It has been two years since the UK government published the National Space Strategy, and the nation's interests in orbit and beyond are more aligned than ever before. However, there are still key issues to acknowledge and address, such as the co-ordination of priorities, not leaving SME's behind in contracts, having healthy diversity and more. Let's take a look at some of the biggest topics discussed at the second annual Defence Space Conference.

Priority list
In providing an update to the strategy two years on, AVM Paul Godfrey, the commander of the UK Space Command, said the first-year priority was forming the command and the second was "establishing operations, training capability processes, goals and milestones". In 2023, Godfrey explained the core priorities were operationalising the command, such as continuing the MoD's Skynet 6 programme, and most recently unveiling the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) with the US and Australia. Godfrey also emphasised that the UK's access to launch must remain a critical national priority in the next few years.

The National Space Strategy was released in September 2021 to co-ordinate the UK's efforts in space and outline priorities for the future. The strategy is mostly focused on growing the sector, protecting national interests through space, spurring international collaboration and addressing current issues like climate change. In early 2023, the UK government further announced it hopes to accomplish the goals outlined in the strategy with Pounds 10bn funding over the next ten years.

However, while the strategy has proven successful so far, the conference highlighted several issues that should be addressed soon. During the first session, called 'Delivering the space strategy together', one of the key themes discussed was that the UK must align its priorities. Doug Liddle, the CEO of In-Space Missions, a BAE Systems subsidiary, said that the UK government must provide the industry with a "clear horizon" of its requirements in space. "In light of fairly uncertain national requirements, as somebody in the industry, I digitally look at my newspaper and I'm very aware of what's going on and what space could address, but we don't always get that coming back from government," Liddle said on the panel. In-Space Missions design, build and operate spacecraft for several applications and customers.

"So, this is part of the narrative where industry gets a little bit lost and says, 'I'm building these, you need these now' but the government says, 'Yes and in 10 years I will be buying them', but after some studying and approving and doing some business case reviews, I think that we are a bit disjointed. I think getting that message of urgency and also the benefits of space, not just in capability [because] it's not exotic, it's not expensive, it's a real thing that we can actually deliver now and the government can go out and buy a lot of capabilities tomorrow in fact."

Mark Bacon, the Deputy Director of Programmes, Direct Investments and Sector Policy at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) which heads the strategy, agreed with Liddle, saying: "I think the good news is that there's a recognition that we're not doing enough on capabilities and we're not doing it quickly enough... one of the main challenges we get from the National Space Strategy from the sector is that we've got a huge range of ambitions, but actually it's not very clear which things we're going to move on first." Bacon said that in 2024, the government will issue the 'Space Sector Plan' and set out five or six areas part of the strategy to accelerate and focus on first. However, Bacon did not disclose more about what would be included in the plan.

Getting a slice of the pie
One of the prominent topics discussed at the conference was SMEs getting a slice of the MoD contract pie. As of now, large primes have been considered the gatekeepers of these contracts, especially international companies like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. David Pile, the UK and Europe regional director of Northrop Grumman Space Systems said that often the decision comes down to security. "One of the hardest parts though for SMEs is sometimes we need to talk to them about the application of a new technology, which might be a higher security classification. So, I think there's a tension there, [and] if the SME doesn't have the ability to handle secure information, how do we bring them in for a realistic conversation about how we might use that technology?" Pile said.

The topic of SMEs being included in MoD contracts, especially in space, has been prevalent for some time now. In January 2022, the MoD published a second SME Action Plan, focused on reducing barriers often associated with smaller companies attaining defence contracts. In July 2022, the Scottish Affairs Committee released a report that claimed SMEs in Scotland were "being overlooked" by the MOD.

Pile suggested that SMEs could work with larger primes to increase their chances of working with defence, however, that solution comes with its own set of barriers. Joshua Broom, Head of Space at the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said that it is crucial the government continues to outline its contract expectations to give SMEs more opportunities.

Looking the part isn't enough
One of the more unfiltered topics of the conference revolved around diversity and inclusion. While the theme is broad, and many aspects were discussed - specifically how the conversation should not be limited to race and gender - there were few key subjects emphasised. Melissa Quinn, former head of Spaceport Cornwall and now the Managing Director of Seradata, Slingshot Aerospace, said while diversity had become a common discussion in space, many challenges have not changed in over a decade. "I go to a lot of these conferences and have been since I started this industry now, what 12 years ago, and a lot of the same challenges are still there, [and] a lot of the same topics come up and they talk about the same things over and over again," Quinn said on the panel.

"That's because we're not bringing different people to the table with their different ideas and their different approaches of how we can maybe solve some of these problems. So, diversity is key. We've got to start to have some of these different people coming, having a seat at the table making these decisions."

Another point made by Wing Commander Sas Duffin, also Deputy Director and Branch Head Enablement of the NATO Space Centre, said that the defence industry can sometimes be "blinkered towards visible diversity" - where there is a focus more on looking the part rather than being truly diverse. "For me, it goes back to the bluntness of diversity, [which] is very important. If you've got a room full of very different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, then you have a different approach to problem-solving, you have a different approach to development, and you have a different approach to understanding the threat and how you counter that, which ultimately is what defence is all about," Duffin said.

The RAF aims to drive its ratio of female recruits to 40% by 2040, which has over time received varied responses. Carissa Bryce Christensen, the CEO and founder of BryceTech, one of the largest space analytics companies, said that while she believes the best person for the role should always get the position, regardless of gender quotas, "the idea of not recruiting the best person for the job from over half the population just seems fundamentally inefficient and flawed." Christensen said that for BryceTech, the goal has been to reach broadly in attracting job applications (to increase the chance of a diverse pool of candidates), and then choose the best person for the job. Meanwhile, she warned against hiring for the sake of 'token diversity'.

The Defence Space Conference is now aiming to return every year, with the next happening on 24-25 September 2024. Many more topics were discussed at this year's one, and a more detailed report will be published in an upcoming edition of AEROSPACE magazine.

Related Links
United Kingdom Space Command
Military Space News at SpaceWar.com