Peter Kyle – 2024 Speech at the Farnborough International Air Show

The speech made by Peter Kyle, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, at Farnborough International Air Show on 22 July 2024.

Good morning.

It’s great to be here.

Thank you, Paul, for the kind introduction, and thank you all for being here this morning and crowding around, it’s great to see you all.

This is my first speech as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology.

And I would like to start by telling you why I have chosen Farnborough to make my first speech.

The first reason is one that I have got from meeting so many people who are working, innovating and driving the space sector.

The second, personal reason – when I was appointed into the Shadow Secretary of State role by Keir Starmer, now the Prime Minister, back in September, I was keen as possible to get up and meet people who are working in the space sector. And something I’ve noticed straight away, whether it was in aviation, aeronautics, or in space, everyone single person I have met is dedicated to the sector in which you are working, that you go way beyond what I have seen in many other sectors. In innovations in other sectors, I think people, they test, they try, they try and find investment, but when it’s [inaudible] they don’t come together after a certain period, they move on and find another approach.

But the sheer doggedness, the sheer passion, that I have seen in every single company, every single university research lab, and every aspect of space, it is a sector like no other.

It is a sector who are so incredibly passionate about the sector, about their innovations, about their contribution to it but also passionate about the possibilities that space has. It’s infectious.

And I have been infected by their enthusiasm and drive.

The second reason is something that is personal, and quite interesting for me today because so many people have already said to me ‘Is this your first Farnborough?’.

This is my fourth Farnborough and the other 3 have always been out there, not on the Monday, but the other days of the week where the public are invited and I’ve sat with my dad and my partner at the time. My partner worked for a commercial airliner and my dad was a Royal Navy aircraft mechanic in the 1960s where he worked in [inaudible] fighter jets of the day.

So my entire upbringing has been with my dad telling stories on the deck; battling in the most extreme circumstances, keeping our aircraft of the day, fighter jets, in the sky, and when they crash landed, picking up the pieces, and trying to repair some of the aircraft of the day in extreme circumstances.

Coming here with my dad and my partner for 3 Farnborough’s, sitting out there with one yabbering in my ear with every single detail of civil aviation and the other one being able to tell me the things in the sky by the sound of the engine, gives you an insight into the kind of family life and background I had running up to this moment in time.

But now we are here, and that spirit of innovation I told you about that I detected from people who are driving from the centre, and that was represented by people around me and in my personal life, I think we bring into the mission-led approach, this government.

None of the 5 missions of this government, that are going to drive the national renewal over a decade, that we have come into power on, can happen if we stick to the tried and tested.

To find the bold solutions to the problems that have dogged our country for decades, and the solutions we will face in the decades to come, we must do things differently.

In other words, we need to innovate.

I am sure that the irony of a minister standing here and talking to you about national missions, for those of you working in the space sector, will not be lost. I promise not to labour the analogy.

But I do stand here today because there is no better example than the space sector that explains what we are trying to do as a government.

Opportunity

Today, the UK’s space sector is growing 4 times faster than the overall UK economy.

Its workforce is twice as productive as the British average.

To create opportunities for companies to start, scale and succeed in the UK, to create the good jobs that bring prosperity to communities up and down our country, these sectors need to learn from space and space needs to lead the way.

Delivery

If we want to deliver better public services and better lives for the people up and down our country, then the answer is simply the same.

• Understanding the effects of our changing climate.
• Providing rural communities with internet access.
• Keeping our armed forces safe and aircraft in constant contact.

These are not just opportunities, they are obligations and none of them can be fulfilled without space.

Security

The first obligation for any government, of course, is to keep our country safe.

Today, space-based services like satellite communications and remote sensing are the cornerstones of our national security.

Without them, the systems that keep Britain safe will grind to a halt.

Secure financial transactions that rely on timestamps that are accurate to the millisecond.

Emergency services that depend on precise GPS data to find the people who need their help.

In an increasingly unstable world, space will matter more than ever.

And, as orbits become more congested – and contested – we must work with our NATO allies to protect our people.

Discovery

So, to anyone who asks – does space matter?

These are my 3 principles – security, delivery and opportunity – they provide the beginnings of the answer.

And yet none of them can quite capture what is so unique about space.

No metric of growth or productivity can distil what is so breath-taking about the images taken by the James Webb telescope.

Or the pioneering spirit that will propel the Rosalind Franklin rover to Mars.

And it would be just as hard to measure the sense of pride I feel knowing that it was the contributions of British scientists that made these missions possible.

To that trio, then, I would add a fourth – discovery.

New solutions to new problems

Because the value of human knowledge is never solely defined by its ability to solve our current crises.

The astronauts on board Apollo 7 could never have predicted the ways that companies like Space Forge in Cardiff could exploit the cold and uncontaminated properties of microgravity to find new cures to Alzheimer’s and cancer, to 3D print organs for transplant patients or manufacture the semiconductors that will power the digital revolution that is unfolding today.

The century to come will bring new problems.

And as we search for new solutions, we simply cannot predict the ways that each discovery in space might matter.

We can only prepare by supporting the scientists and businesses with the boldness and brilliance to make them better.

Later today [22 July 2023], I’ll be meeting one of those people – I’ve already met Rosemary Coogan, who became our third ever astronaut earlier this year.

A strategic partnership with business

Looking ahead, I will be guided by these 4 principles – discovery and delivery, security and opportunity.

But I cannot chart a course for success in space alone.

No mission can succeed without a strong team, united around a common goal.

Working closely with our international partners, including the European Space Agency, I want to forge a strategic partnership with businesses, researchers, and investors.

A meaningful relationship anchored not in the short-term solutions and shorter funding cycles, but in certainty and stability. Because businesses don’t want a new strategy every 6 months. I’ve heard this repeatedly day in, day out.

They need a clear signal from a government that isn’t afraid to make hard choices about where to focus our efforts. Because we know that we cannot do everything.

But that makes it all the more important to invest in those technologies where we really can lead the world. I know that this strategic partnership will take time to build. But that work starts here today.

National Space Innovation Programme

So, here in Farnborough, I am announcing £33 million in funding for innovative businesses from the UK Space Agency’s National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP).

From the smallest start-ups to global giants, the recipients of the fund aren’t just creating cutting edge technologies, they want to use that technology to build a better future for Britain.

In Cambridge, SuperSharp are designing a heat-detecting telescope to gather the data that we will need to tackle the climate crisis.

In Hereford, ETL Systems are building ground equipment that links satellites to 5G and 6G mobile networks, transforming connectivity.

In Harwell, Orbit Fab and Lunasa are working on refuelling and docking technologies that will extend the lifespan of satellites and preserve our space environment for future generations.

Later this week, I’ll be travelling up to Glasgow to meet one of the winners myself.

Spire Global are developing technology to supply unique weather forecasting data to global weather prediction centres.

And their success in Scotland embodies the phenomenal potential of our science and tech economy.

Once the shipbuilding capital of the world, Glasgow now makes more satellites than anywhere in Europe.

Someday soon, the phrase ‘Clyde Built’ – used in previous generations to describe the incredible ships built on the banks of the Clyde – will be used for small satellites, too.

Travel fifty miles East through the Central Belt, and you will find a unique combination of world-class universities and innovation centres that are cementing Edinburgh’s reputation as a ‘space data capital.’

Fly north to the Shetland Islands, as I soon will do, and before long you’ll get to SaxaVord. In Autumn, that space port will host the first ever vertical satellite launch in Europe, putting Britain on the map in an increasingly competitive global market.

Conclusion

In all of these places, a better future for Britain is coming into view.

Here in Farnborough, you can see that future very clearly indeed.

People with decades of experience in aerospace and oil and gas are using their expertise to build the industries of tomorrow and create prosperity for their communities.

Talented researchers in world-leading universities are developing technologies to tackle some of our toughest problems.

Innovative start-ups and spinouts are taking those solutions out of the lab and into our lives.

I will be a champion for those people. Those researchers. And those businesses too. Because we have an extraordinary opportunity here.

Together, we can grow our economy and create good jobs for the future for our people.

We can deliver the public services they deserve.

And we can protect our country in an increasingly volatile world.

If change is our mission.

Then this is right here is where we start.

Thank you.