TONY BLAIR s Government gifted the EU the key technology that allowed for a breakthrough in the European Union s Galileo project, according to Chair of the Parliamentary Space Committee David Morris.
BREXIT saw the UK leave the Galileo programme, despite investing £1.2billion into the space probe and supplying, and assembling, 34 key parts for the project.
UK Government Guidance
the European satellite navigation programmes, Galileo and European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS)
the Copernicus Earth Observation space programme
the EU Space Surveillance and Tracking (EUSST) programme
the Governmental Satellite Communications (GovSatCom) programme (a new EU programme)
The UK is seeking participation in the Copernicus component.
The UK’s membership of the European Space Agency (ESA) is not affected by leaving the EU as it is not an EU organisation.
Galileo and EGNOS
From 1 January 2021, the UK will no longer participate in the EU Galileo or EGNOS programmes.
Actions for businesses, academics and researchers
Any UK businesses, academics and researchers currently contracted or expecting to carry out contracts on programmes where the UK will no longer participate, should contact the relevant contracting authority to make sure that arrangements are in place to comply with the conditions of the contract a
According to a statement on the UK Government’s official website, as of January 1 the United Kingdom will cease participation in the European Galileo and European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service(EGNOS) programs. British citizens and other private users are not affected, apparently: “devices that currently use Galileo and EGNOS, such as smart phones, will continue to be able to do so.”
The document, “Brexit transition: new rules for 2021,” states that the UK will “not use Galileo (including the future Public Regulated Service (PRS)) for defence or critical national infrastructure; have access to the encrypted Galileo Public Regulated Service; be able to play any part in the development of Galileo; be able to play any part in the development of EGNOS; be able to use the EGNOS SoL and EGNOSWorking Agreements (EWAs), which will no longer be recognised by the EU; be able to access or use EDAS.”