As the UK touted its aerospace achievements at the Farnborough Air Show, new Prime Minister Andy Burnham saw the perfect opportunity to scrap the department responsible.
Burnham, who took office Monday, announced yesterday that the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT)—which housed the UK Space Agency (UKSA) after a shakeup last year—is no longer.
DSIT will be replaced by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade; the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; and the Cabinet Office. Officials from UKSA declined to comment on the reorganization.
What now? It’s unclear how the reorganization will impact UKSA’s future, but the shift makes one thing clear: AI and defense are now taking center stage.
Of all the appointments made by Burnham on Monday, two stand out as indicative the country’s future direction on tech and defense.
- Kanishka Narayan was appointed as the country’s first Minister for AI, which includes access to Cabinet meetings where Narayan can promote the country’s AI policies directly to Burnham.
- Former Defense Secretary John Healey—who quit the role last month over disagreements about the UK’s defense funding—has rejoined the government as Chancellor of the Exchequer, where he can control the country’s defense spending more directly.
Open for business: On its face, the reorganization suggests that the UK is serious about a commercial future for its deep-tech industry, adding a business-focused angle to UKSA and other national science initiatives.
“Government has too many silos. Reuniting the science, innovation and business departments…can make the whole more powerful,” Greg Clark, who served the UK as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy until 2019, said in a post on X.
However, some fear that the new structure will have the opposite effect.
“Breaking up the work of DSIT…would slow momentum at a time when pace is essential for both the growth of the economy, and our standing on the global stage,” techUK CEO Julian David and Startup Coalition Executive Director Dom Hallas warned in an open letter to Burnham. “We should use this moment to strengthen tech leadership at the heart of government, not dismantle it.”
Holding space: For UKSA, the reorganization could refocus UK space efforts toward commercialization, but the immediate result requires yet another another changing of the guard amid an already busy workload.
Luckily, the UK’s science department is no stranger to change. Prime Minister Burnham is the country’s seventh PM in the last decade. The UK’s science department has had as many ministers under different names in the same period. Maybe this one will stick.
deltaVision Raises €10.2M to Build In-Orbit Refueling Tech
deltaVision plans to use the new capital to fund two parallel expansion efforts: grow its manufacturing capacity, and research new capabilities.
UK Commits £62M into Domestic Space Capabilities
The UK government announced £62M ($83.3M) in new funds Monday to develop domestic satcom and space technologies.
ISU Founder Shares a Vision Beyond Liquidation
Payload spoke with ISU cofounder Bob Richards and Dean Emerita Angie Bukley about what happened, and what comes next.
SWISSto12 Closes $70M Series C
European space company SWISSto12 has raised a $70M Series C, which will help it scale to meet the global demand for sovereign hardware in orbit.
Officials from Florida and the UK established a £300,000 ($401,000) fund on the sidelines of the Farnborough Air Show yesterday, intended to spur innovative space partnerships on both sides of the pond.
Backed by UKSA’s International Bilateral Fund and Space Florida’s International Aerospace Innovation Fund, the new fund supports projects with at least one partner headquartered in each region.
Better together: The joint call for projects will open this fall, with selections expected in early 2027.
Keep reading