A Penny For Space

I am launching a new, ambitious campaign in the UK

The UK is in a bit of a slump. We are into our second decade of economic stagnation, and there is widespread skepticism that we can turn things around. Every government wants a return to growth, but thus far it hasn’t materialised, and so now is a perfect time to propose new ideas.

Governments already acknowledge that space plays a critical role in our economy, our military, and in safeguarding the environment. But this is a rather instrumental view, and doesn’t see the development of space - and certainly not the settlement of space - as a good in itself. I seek to change that.

As a concrete policy proposal, I am starting with a simple one - a penny out of every pound spend by the government should go towards space activities. We can realise expansive goals in space with only 1% of spending, and for those forever whinging about “fixing problems on Earth” we can offer the remaining 99%.

I have submitted a petition to the government to this end, and expect it to be approved for public signatures in the coming weeks. I will post an update here on the blog (so make sure you are subscribed)

The Plan

If the UK government were to do this, what could be achieved?

1% of our total spending is around £12 billion a year, which is about twice the current budget of the entire ESA, and still somewhat less than what NASA spends. If it were allocated as ordinary space funding, we would have a very robust and impressive space agency, but I think we can do more.

We should have a new agency, distinct from the UKSA, that is focused specifically on development and colonisation. These goals are often at odds with the scientific goals of UKSA, which should not be modified. We should also focus on providing commercial opportunities, such as the space station contracts that allowed NASA to support SpaceX in its early years, instead of trying to do everything in house within an agency.

In fact, a space station is a good candidate for a way to generate these contracts, and I have argued elsewhere that one can be placed in a Sun-synchronous orbit which is accessible to launch sites in the UK. Such orbits, which have continuous sunlight in certain cases, would be also good sites for any in space processes that are energy intensive, such as manufacturing and data centres. There would be money to invest in these things. We should expand our spaceports and encourage the largest rockets - notably Starship - to fly from our soil. Investment in a state funded launch system would be unwise in the current market.

But can we really settle space on that budget? Let’s say half the money is spend on existing agencies, programs, investments and overhead. If we estimate that a mature launch of Starship costs about £15 million, and its payload the same, then £6 billion would pay for 200 loaded Starship per year, or around 40,000 tonnes to LEO per year. Ways to develop lunar and asteroid resources and build colonies in space can surely be accommodated in this with careful planning, and serious plans have been made with less capability.

Origin of the Idea

When I first floated this idea on X, some people pointed me to a campaign from 2012 to do the same in the US: increase the NASA budget to 1% of the US Federal Budget. It was called Penny4NASA, and it had a neat logo

Their petition got over 27,000 signatures and even elicited an official response from the White House - although the response was to basically say no and to attack the Republicans in Congress:

Unfortunately, not everyone is supportive of this ambitious effort. Rather than making bold, targeted investments in our space future and embarking on new partnerships with the private sector to ensure every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely, the proposed Republican House budget plan, if spread evenly, would significantly cut NASA's budget, forcing the deepest cuts to the space program since just after we landed on the Moon.

Even in today's tight fiscal environment, the Administration has proposed a NASA budget for FY 2013 that spares the agency from such cuts and yet will deliver more than ever from this essential driver of American innovation.

Was it realistic of this campaign, or one like it, to expect any more?

Expected Results

Regardless of how many signatures I get, the UK won’t suddenly allocate the money. They will make at best pro-space noises and proclaim how awesome their existing spending is, and perhaps consider a small increase in the UKSA budget. But it will get the idea out there, and that is the first step in getting it to happen at a later date. The goal is to determine the shape of the future debate as certain events unfold.

When SpaceX achieved the first catch of a superheavy booster in October last year, it cut through to the mainstream in a way most space news doesn’t. The progress of SpaceX is making a noticeable impact on people’s thinking and ass they and others continue to hit milestones space will become more and more relevant to political discussion. In this context, it will become clear that the UK remains a fairly minor player next to the US and China,

When this happens, its good to have the right idea floating around for people to reach for. I’d like that to be this idea.

What You Can Do

I am looking for help with this and input from others. Critical tasks are

• Graphic design. The campaign could do with a logo, and flyers. I am really not good at this myself.

• Sign the petition when it goes live (watch this space)

• Awareness raising outside space circles. Its very important to talk to people about this who aren’t already convinced.

You can also help me by becoming a paid subscriber to the blog:

Any further suggestions are welcome - I am leaving comments open on this post for these.