Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to
work with international partners to regulate the use of
commercial near-earth satellites to combat any adverse effects on
astronomy.
(Lab)
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on
the Order Paper, especially as the House may not appreciate the
potential risks to astronomy from a new generation of near-earth
satellites.
(Con)
My Lords, before I start, I bring the House’s attention to my
registered interests. With the number of satellites in orbit
growing rapidly, the UK recognises the need for trade-offs
between the requirements of the astronomical community and those
of the satellite operators. The UK has advocated strongly on dark
and quiet skies as part of our leadership on sustainable space
activities. We continue to support efforts to identify mitigation
measures at international forums as we deliver the goals of the
National Space Strategy.
(Lab)
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that Answer. Would he agree
that, with satellites now designed to transmit signals to earth
across the whole of the earth, the previous protection for radio
astronomy has been diminished? Would he therefore agree to give a
commitment on behalf of the Government to seek to protect
astronomy facilities both in the UK and around the world, perhaps
in line with the protection afforded to the Effelsberg
observatory in Germany? Finally, given the Government’s
significant stake in OneWeb, will the Minister try to ensure
that, in the next generation of satellites, measures are
introduced, along the lines of the International Astronomical
Union, to protect our astronomy facilities to the greatest extent
possible?
(Con)
I am most grateful to the noble Viscount for bringing up this
very important subject. The UK will always consider how it can
best work internationally with partners to enable science and
technology, including radio astronomy. The UK is working with the
international community to understand the requirements for the
protection of our skies for both astronomers and the indigenous
populations. We are also scoping the range of potential
technological and policy solutions available to accommodate those
requirements as fully as possible. The IAU proposals are a
valuable addition to our work in understanding the space
standards we should consider for sustainable space operations. We
are working closely with international colleagues and the UK
space sector to develop standards fit for the future space
operating environment. Great Britain is leading the world in this
sector.
(CB)
My Lords, is the Minister aware of the Kessler effect, whereby
items circulating above this planet are either hitting or being
hit by other objects, creating more debris that then goes on to
hit other things and so on ad infinitum? Secondly, is he aware
that, of the satellites circling above our heads right now, 85%
do not carry insurance? Does he consider these two factors
satisfactory and, if not, what should be done about this?
(Con)
The noble Lord asks two good questions. On his first, a recent
summit pointed to Europe making a commercial step change,
launching and celebrating the zero debris treaty and ESA’s
commitment to deliver a cargo return mission to the international
space station. The main output from the ESA council, at
ministerial level, was the approval of ESA’s director-general’s
resolution on lifting Europe’s ambitions for a green and
sustainable future, and access to space and space exploration. On
the question about insurance, I am not familiar with that, so I
will write to the noble Lord.
(LD)
My Lords, these satellites are now set to fill space at a rate of
over 1,000 a year until 2030. In the Government’s National Space
Strategy in Action paper of July this year, the Minister, , said:
“The UK will lead the pack on regulatory standards, promoting
competition whilst ending the wild west nature of space
today”.
How will the Government do that? How will they, for instance, get
their space sustainability standard adopted internationally?
(Con)
As I said just a moment ago, we are world leaders in this. My
honourable friend Minister announced the first ever UK
plan for space sustainability—an ambitious package showing UK
leadership and commitment on this issue. The Minister also chairs
the space sustainability round table, bringing together key
members from industry, finance, insurance and academia to focus
on the key issues of space sustainability. I assure the noble
Lord that Great Britain is leading this way on this with our
European and international partners.
(Con)
My Lords, I welcome the merger, but can my noble friend the
Minister tell the House what influence the French Government will
have as a result of it?
(Con)
My Lords, France holds a 13.58% in the Eutelsat group through the
Public Investment Bank, or BPI, and its sovereign wealth fund.
His Majesty’s Government now have a 10.8% share in the Eutelsat
group and retain their existing special rights and vetoes via a
special share in OneWeb. His Majesty’s Government can appoint one
director to the board of the Eutelsat group and one director to
OneWeb’s board, so Great Britain is in control of the merger and
OneWeb’s role in it.
(Lab)
My Lords, my noble friend raises a very important point, but is
not it also true that one of the greatest problems facing
astronomy is light pollution, as has been recorded recently by
the Science and Technology Committee? Is not that a real issue
for understanding astronomy better? Hundreds of thousands of
schoolchildren in many parts of the world that are overpopulated
are unable to observe what is going on in the night sky, which is
a serious disadvantage to our better understanding of satellites
and astronomy, and giving attention to this problem.
(Con)
The noble Lord is exactly right. It is a case of the urban and
the countryside. If you live in the city, it is often very
difficult, due to light pollution. I am fortunate enough to live
in the Peak District, where we have no light pollution and we can
see the stars. I am not sure that I have an answer to the noble
Lord’s questions. When designing our modern cities, they could
reduce the number of lights that are left on. When noble Lords go
home this evening, they will see an awful lot of light pollution
in the vicinity. As the noble Lord points out, planning for the
future is the key, so that our cities do not produce so much
light and young people can enjoy the delights of space.
(CB)
My Lords, I declare an interest as a one-time vice-chairman of
Eutelsat. What was the historic rationale for the UK Government
to invest in the soon-to-be-bankrupt OneWeb, and what is the
rationale now for the UK to hold an investment in Eutelsat
OneWeb?
(Con)
The noble Lord asks a very good question. I was not privy to the
original decision-making, as he may well appreciate, but I think
that it was a decision well made, because Great Britain needs to
be kept within this relatively new sector, and that was the
motivation for the investment of taxpayers’ money originally. The
reason for keeping that stake, as it is for the French
Government, is to make sure that we can have some influence, and
that any inward investment that comes into future satellites
comes into the United Kingdom, bringing well-paid jobs and
investment into the UK.
(Lab Co-op)
My Lords, the Minister earlier cited very favourably the work
that Mr Freeman, the Science Minister, is doing on this issue,
and how important he is to the work. What are the implications of
the fact that he has just been sacked?
(Con)
The noble Lord never lets us down, does he? My understanding, in
answer to the question, is that he resigned and was not
sacked—but I was hoping that the noble Lord would ask about
future investment in Scotland.
(Con)
My Lords, my noble friend will be aware that from 1 January we
are rejoining the Copernicus Programme. The Sentinel system for
Copernicus of near-earth orbiting satellites provides us with
absolutely vital data, not least in relation to climate change.
How might the British space industry, as a world leader, benefit
from our rejoining Copernicus in the next three years?
(Con)
That is a very specific question about rejoining that
organisation, and I do not have an answer to it for my noble
friend, but I shall certainly write on that specific point.
(Lab)
My Lords, there are already an estimated 36,000 near-earth space
objects circulating around our planet, and the prospect of many
thousands more commercial satellites being launched in the coming
decade. Given the prospect of serious collisions, what are the
Government doing to create an agreement on cleaning up space
junk—for example, by bringing down satellites when they have
finished the end of their mission, and so on? Is this an issue on
which the Government should take a role as global leaders, to
make sure that we are leading the way rather than following in
the footsteps of other countries?
(Con)
The noble Baroness raises a very good point. The UK collaborates
internationally to develop standards, regulations, norms of
behaviour, agreements and best practice to influence and define
the in-orbit regime of the future. That includes exactly what the
noble Baroness is pointing to around how we remove satellites and
other space junk when they come to the end of their active life.
There are technologies out there, such as, for want of a better
word, a giant magnet that grabs hold of it and puts it somewhere.
Some of these satellites contain valuable metals, so it is in the
long-term interest to remove them. Technologies are happening,
and I am assured by the department that it is something that
Great Britain is leading on.
