LONDON — As Britain says goodbye to the European Union, the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson is making a sudden swerve into space. Britain has agreed to pay $500 million for a 45 percent stake in OneWeb, a London company that has launched dozens of satellites orbiting Earth but filed for bankruptcy this year. Britain wants to get into a new satellite network because its decision to leave the European Union meant it severed its connection to the European navigation satellite system, called Galileo. With OneWeb, Britain could eventually have access to satellites for military purposes but also take advantage of the company’s technology to beam high-speed internet service to remote parts of the country. Being part-owner of a satellite company would also give Britain a larger piece of the space business, which the government says is growing 60 percent a year and supports £300 billion in economic activity in Britain.

Source: International New York Times July 10, 2020 20:48 UTC