Brexit was arguably a watershed in the UK’s space technology development. In the Cold War and the post-Cold War period, the UK mainly built its capability with the US and its ally-based organizations (such as Five Eyes) with regard to defense, and the EU and the European Space Agency with regard to civil and scientific aspects. Through this, the UK was successfully embedded in the security chain, technology chain, and industrial chain of the US and Europe. Given such a landscape, the UK is a significant actor in the space domain, but dependent on the countries mentioned above.

Since 2016, with Brexit offering a new window, the UK has sought a reset of its global role. In this context, space was raised as a key area that could help the UK strengthen its competitive capability. The UK has followed this strategy and looked for autonomy from its traditional allies while maintaining collaboration with them. On one hand, the British government bought OneWeb, aiming to build a navigation system on its own on the company’s basis; on the other hand, the government announced investment in the Skynet-6 project for the purpose of advanced military communications. In addition, the UK established a space command under the MoD in April 2021. All these show the UK’s goals and commitments in the post-Brexit era.