U.K. 2026 Space Strategy

The following is the U.K. Space Strategy, released Sept. 8, 2026.

From the Report

Space is entering a new era. One that is marked by enormous potential to transform the way we live our lives, with dynamic commercial industry delivering services and products from space we could barely imagine a decade ago. But also one of growing volatility, where threats and hazards in space increasingly mirror the geopolitics on Earth.

Space technology has revolutionized our entire way of life – from medical breakthroughs and scientific discoveries that have reshaped our understanding of the universe, to connecting every part of the planet through communications, timing, and navigation. Space underpins the modern economy itself: our energy systems, our financial markets, our ability to protect the United Kingdom. Today, satellites underpin 18 percent of U.K. GDP. Space is not the future – it is the infrastructure of the present.

Space is increasingly a domain of competition. Adversaries are investing in capabilities to disrupt, degrade, and deny the space-based services on which we depend. Threats facing the U.K. on Earth are matched by increasing threats in space.

That is why space is unequivocally a priority for the U.K. and for this government. Faced with a new era of conflict, we are putting defense and national security at the heart of our approach to space. Faced with great opportunities in the burgeoning space economy, we are taking an assertive, interventionist approach to promoting our space industry – backed by our Modern Industrial Strategy and our wider reindustrialization agenda to bring good growth to every postcode in the U.K. In short, the U.K. must be competitive – commercially, economically, and in the space capabilities we build for our defense and national security.

We have the foundations to succeed. Our space sector is already one of the most innovative, productive, and commercially driven in the world. Our scientists and engineers are building instruments that peer to the edge of the universe and pioneering the technologies that will service satellites in orbit. Through this U.K. Space Strategy, backed by a serious, fully funded delivery plan unprecedented in its transparency, we are acting decisively to unleash that potential, deliver greater capability to protect and defend the United Kingdom, and scale up the commercial space businesses that will power our future prosperity.

We will not do this alone. The U.K.’s strength in space has always been amplified by partnership – through NATO, through the European Space Agency, and through deep collaboration with allies old and new. We will deepen those partnerships, forge new ones, and work together to deter threats, shape the rules that govern space, and ensure this domain remains open, safe, and sustainable. The new era of space is here. And this strategy ensures that the U.K. is ready for it.

The Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP, Secretary of State for Defense The Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade

Download the document here.