Agency
28/11/2025
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British economic growth and security will benefit from the UK’s new £1.7 bn investment in European Space Agency programmes, agreed during ESA’s Ministerial Council in Germany.
The UK commitments formed part of the largest ever funding package agreed by ESA Member States at a Ministerial Council meeting.
The country’s contributions are expected to safeguard thousands of highly skilled British jobs, while enabling science and innovation that boosts society and industry. It increases the UK’s current level of support for ESA programmes to £2.8 bn over the next decade (2025/26 to 2034/35), with further investment to be delivered at ESA’s next Ministerial Council in 2028.
Applause as CM25 concludes in Bremen
The UK commitments include £162 m for launcher programmes such as the European Launcher Challenge; a new £131 m commitment for the UK-led Vigil mission to monitor and forecast dangerous space weather; and continued backing for the Rosalind Franklin Mars rover and the Argonaut programme.
High-growth programmes – including those focused on commercialisation, technology development, and telecommunications – shared a new commitment of £261 m, while an investment of £511 m in ESA’s core budget reaffirmed the UK’s leading role in cutting-edge space science.
ESA Earth observation programmes received a new UK investment of £120 m. When considering current British commitments, this means that the UK has allocated a total of approximately £471 m to Earth observation projects over the next four years. In addition, a new £57 m investment in advanced position, navigation and timing (PNT) technologies will support UK strengths in this critical area.
UK Space Minister Liz Lloyd CBE said: “Our space sector is a key driver of our economic growth and national security, and also supports our allies in Europe and beyond.
“After these negotiations in Bremen, during what remains a challenging time for economies across Europe, we have secured backing for our priority ESA programmes, which will support thousands of jobs, greater resilience and cutting-edge science and technology across the UK.”
Paul Bate, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, said: “With a sharper focus and more coordinated approach to space across government, we entered these important negotiations with clear priorities, and delivered against them. But what’s even more important is how we worked as a team – government, industry, academia – to deliver the capabilities in space that our country needs.
“I’d like to put on record my thanks to everyone in the UK space sector for all the work they do, day-in day-out, and to all those who supported these important negotiations. Now the real work begins to translate these commitments into valuable contract wins for the sector.”
You can read the full story on ESA Member States’ commitments at the Ministerial Council on the esa.int corporate pages.
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