Britain will be scrambling hard to put Galileo at the centre of a new security partnership

Galileo, a niche satellite technology programme, has escalated to the top of the Brexit political agenda as Britain and the EU wrangle over access to it. There is a thrilling tension as the two have become locked in an inter-governmental conflict overhung by industrial threats, against a backdrop of science-fiction-like technologies. Galileo symbolises the power of space communications for economic and security policy. And now the EU has signalled a red light to Britain’s key demand for full access to a next-generation encrypted service, writes Monica Horten (LSE).