Sunak defence deal takes off as UK and US launch space rocket
A new space rocket is catalysing a defence deal struck by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and president Joe Biden between the UK and the US last week.
Oxford-based startup Pulsar Fusion and aerospace company Princeton Satellite Systems are joining forces to build a “hyper-fast” rocket which can travel from Earth to Saturn’s moons in under two years, some billion miles away.
The rocket also has potential to reach Mars in 30 days.
Current plans to explore Saturn’s moons include NASA’s Dragonfly spaceship, due to launch in 2027 and arrive on Saturn’s most Earth-like moon Titan by 2034.
This comes as Sunak signed an ‘Atlantic Declaration’ with Biden last week.
The economic partnership is designed to develop new technology, encourage industry investment, and strengthen both nations’ supply chains.
Sunak specifically called out China and Russia as threats to UK and US economic health, saying they “are willing to manipulate and exploit our openness, steal our intellectual property, use technology for authoritarian ends or withdraw crucial resources. They will not succeed.”