The UK's space sector, never one to shy away from a bit of cosmic turbulence, is today waking up to the fallout from Blue Origin’s latest mishap. Jeff Bezos’s pet rocket project, the New Glenn, suffered a catastrophic failure during its lunar landing attempt, scattering taxpayer-funded dreams across the Sea of Tranquility. For the City of London, this is not just a spectacle of billionaire vanity; it is a stark reminder of the risk premium attached to Nasa’s Artemis programme, a venture already struggling with gravitational pulls of fiscal irresponsibility.
Let us get the numbers straight. Blue Origin, for all its founder’s wealth, has yet to turn a profit from its space exploits. The New Glenn, a heavy-lift launch vehicle touted as a rival to SpaceX, has been bleeding capital for years. This latest failure, where the lander tipped over in a scene reminiscent of a drunken stag do, will set back the timeline for Nasa’s return to the Moon. Investors in the US space sector, including those with London-listed holdings, are now pricing in a higher discount rate for future lunar missions. The market hates uncertainty, and this is uncertainty with fireworks.
The impact on UK plc is more subtle but no less real. Britain’s space industry, centred around Harwell and the Satellite Applications Catapult, relies on stable US launch partners to send its payloads to orbit. A delayed Moon mission means fewer commercial opportunities for British firms supplying components or data services. The share prices of Reaction Engines and Surrey Satellite Technology have barely budged, but the clouds are gathering. Any investor with a fiduciary duty should be scrutinising their exposure to space tourism and lunar logistics, sectors that now carry an asteroid-sized weight of doubt.
Furthermore, this accident underscores the folly of relying on private sector moguls to deliver public sector objectives. Nasa’s Artemis programme, with its $93 billion price tag through 2025, is already a monument to government waste. Throwing more money at Bezos’s hobby will only inflate the deficit. The UK Treasury, which has contributed modestly to the European Space Agency’s lunar ambitions, would do well to remember the principles of fiscal discipline. Capital flight from riskier assets is already underway, with gilt yields creeping up as investors seek safe havens.
In short, the Blue Origin failure is a wake-up call. The Moon is not a quick flip for venture capitalists. It is a long-term, high-risk investment that demands rigorous oversight and a clear-eyed view of the bottom line. Until the market prices in the true cost of space exploration, we will continue to see rockets fall and investors flee.
