Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of seasonal conditions on the UK's (a) ability to launch space missions and (b) space capabilities.

Defence continues to work with partners across Government, including with the UK Space Agency, to fulfil the Government's ambition to become a meaningful space player. We are supporting the UK Space Agency's Spaceflight Programme which aims to establish commercial vertical and horizontal small satellite launch from UK spaceports from 2022. There is currently no plan for the Government to own any spaceports.