Scolpaig Tower near the site of the Uist spaceport (Image: welovestormaway)
Published by We Love Stormoway, 17 March 2025
Alarm is being expressed at Scotland’s role in the ‘weaponisation’ of space after a Freedom of Information request uncovered 130 meetings between the Ministry of Defence and the UK Space Agency.
According to the information supplied to the campaign group Space Watch UK, the 2024 meetings primarily discussed the Shetland spaceport at SaxaVord, the use of nuclear reactors in space, and collaboration with the US, NATO, and arms companies.
The revelation that the Ministry of Defence is in ongoing discussions with an ostensibly civilian space agency raises concern about the planned use of Scotland’s spaceport sites, which include North Uist, Prestwick in Ayrshire, and Machrihanish on the Kintyre peninsula.
Campaigners’ concerns that the defence industry is driving Scottish spaceports comes just two weeks after Glasgow MP John Grady’s Bill to limit rocket launch companies’ compensation for accidents or property damage passed its second reading in the House of Commons.
During the debate, the Glasgow East MP and another Scottish Labour MP, Katrina Murray, of Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch, stressed the importance of space capability for defence and highlighted the defence implications. See previous welovestornoway.com story.
In February, Orbex, the SaxaVord operators, said they would be ready for their first launch in July.
Despite providing details of the UK Space Agency’s meetings, the Freedom of Information response remained cagey. It declined to release the title of one meeting as it concerned a project that was “highly confidential” and could compromise national security, said the UK Space Agency. Another meeting was left unnamed to safeguard national security.
Among those involved in the meetings last year were UK Space Agency chief executive Dr Paul Bate, the agency’s director Matt Archer, and Major General Paul Tedman, the UK’s military space commander, appointed last May, having previously been a deputy director at US Space Command.
In 2024, Dr Bate also met with three major arms companies: BAE Systems, the European aerospace and defence company Airbus, and the joint French and Italian venture Thales Alenia Space.
Meanwhile, two of the UK Space Agency advisors, Non-Executive Members of the UK Space Agency’s Board of Directors, are associated with the MoD. One of them is Peter Watkins, who is listed as an advisor on specific projects for MoD and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory for arms company QinetiQ, which coincidentally operates the Hebrides Range in Uist and Benbecula. He is also a Council of Advisors and the Centre for Defence Economics and Acquisition member at military consultancy RAND Europe.
The other MoD-linked director is Kevin Shaw, who is listed in the space agency’s Register of Directors’ Interests as a consultant and strategic advisor to the MoD and Skynet 6 programme, as well as an associate and consultant to military technology company Anduril Systems and Global Security and Disaster Management Ltd.
His LinkedIn page also highlights work in “Leadership roles within UK Strategic Command”.
Space Watch UK, who instigated the Freedom of Information request, said of the disclosure: “The information released by the Space Agency shows that the agency works hand-in-hand with the Ministry of Defence to integrate military capabilities into space programmes over virtually the entire remit of the Agency’s work – launch programmes, satellite communication, earth observation, and international co-operation.”
They added, “More transparency is needed from the UK Space Agency about co-operation with the Ministry of Defence, and a re-focus on the Agency’s goals of understanding the universe and outer space is urgently required.”
Despite strong local opposition, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar granted the North Uist spaceport planning permission in 2023. Moves by the campaign group Friends of Scolpaig were unsuccessful in their bid to have the Scottish Government call in the planning decision for review.
The spaceport near Scolpaig, Balemartin, is being developed by a consortium led by the Comhairle, who is also the landowner and the planning authority.
The North Uist development involves the construction of a sub-orbital vertical launch spaceport that includes an access road, fencing, a launch pad with a demountable launch tower, and water and liquid storage tanks with associated services and infrastructure.
See: Original Article
