Politics
Sinead Butler
Sep 28, 2021
Boris Johnson has promised to create “galactic Britain” after announcing that spaceports in Cornwall and Shetland will launch rockets into orbit next year - but the news hasn’t gone down to well online.
As the global space industry is expected to double in size within the next decade and sky-rocket to a value of £490 billion per year, Britain - whose current space industry is employs 45,000 and worth £16 billion - wants in on the action.
According to the prime minister the plan will “create more jobs by putting rocket boosters the size of a Saturn V’s F1 under British space businesses” and lead to “Global Britain becoming Galactic Britain,” The Times reported.
If the plans to create several spaceports follow through, it would cement the UK’s place in space history to become the first country to launch a rocket into orbit from Europe.
“The days of the UK space industry idling on the launch pad are over,” Boris Johnson declared.
However, from the reaction the news has gotten it seems that some people will need convincing, as many have taken to Twitter to troll “galactic Britain.”
It seems there were those who weren’t impressed with the slogan “galactic Britain.”
Galactic Britain. https://t.co/M8dctV9nK1— Count Binface (@Count Binface) 1632826744
Galactic Britain… https://t.co/0NL8pRkaSB https://t.co/IIiMgwcJZ5— The Scarlet Mitch (@The Scarlet Mitch) 1632813869
Tired: global Britain Wired: galactic Britain Inspired: supercluster Britain— Dr Alice Lilly (@Dr Alice Lilly) 1632817954
Radical exit from the world island https://t.co/TNuokUO1v7 https://t.co/6nB4GJ0tec— 𝕋𝕙𝕦𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕟 𝔹𝕠𝕝𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕜 (@𝕋𝕙𝕦𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕟 𝔹𝕠𝕝𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕜) 1632819572
watch out universe, Galactic Britain is coming and your stuff is going to the British Museum https://t.co/vly96EOc7L— Gpoptosis (@Gpoptosis) 1632827794
Exclusive footage of Boris Johnson launching "Galactic Britain". https://t.co/DFZIPgWFim https://t.co/iX2JoqTS0C— Jon Newton (@Jon Newton) 1632828757
The announcement left many questioning just how the government will be able to launch a rocket in space when the country is currently experience fuel shortages.
we’ve got no fuel how we gonna yeet a rocket into space https://t.co/Zgwg2QD9lQ— J Λ M Ξ S (@J Λ M Ξ S) 1632818942
Don't get me wrong, this sounds exciting but following the failure of "Global Britain", I don't think "Galactic Bri… https://t.co/aULdUoiB68— Dr Luís (@Dr Luís) 1632818174
is this the same Britain that has run out of petrol? OK just checking https://t.co/kKCJK9xPPl— Matthew Champion (@Matthew Champion) 1632817670
Bruv we don’t have petrol and this guys talking about going space, we’re finished https://t.co/1mkVexCphx— HK 🐺 (@HK 🐺) 1632823945
Presumably these rockets will be powered solely by sovereignty and not, ya know, fuel https://t.co/B9LzfjIZ9M— Ar (@Ar) 1632823894
First thought: we have a fuel shortage. Second thought: https://t.co/3qVaWIpFst https://t.co/ERORNrMZFc— Fraser (@Fraser) 1632836005
Lol Britain can't even launch cars out of their driveways... https://t.co/sg9rjVvkV0— Tezzarose (@Tezzarose) 1632834351
Given the current fuel shortage, people thought that sending a rocket into orbit shouldn’t be a top priority, and instead of splashing the cash on this project that the government should use the money to keep the Universal Credit £20 uplift they recently cut.
our ambulances have no petrol https://t.co/flWgk5910Z— joe🍑 (@joe🍑) 1632816840
We can’t afford to feed kids in poverty by keeping the £20 uplift to Universal Credit but we can afford ‘galactic B… https://t.co/ETM9HGOYcq— Liam Young (@Liam Young) 1632816931
So we according to Boris Johnson, we can afford space rockets to create “Galactic Britain,” but we can’t afford £20… https://t.co/GhdSiKsFvw— Laura Tisdall (@Laura Tisdall) 1632821138
"Galactic Britain" is the sort of cynical drivel from Boris Johnson which should be condemned by anybody with a soc… https://t.co/xA3jUyisGa— Neil Drysdale (@Neil Drysdale) 1632830159
Welcome to Tory Britain: we can afford to blast off rockets into space in the name of 'Galactic Britain' but we can… https://t.co/tVOYIf5FYg— Karl Knights (@Karl Knights) 1632828509
I presume this is to bring back cheese from the moon for our hungry school kids? https://t.co/FGvE0d0Qj0— Durham Whines 🙉🙈 (@Durham Whines 🙉🙈) 1632817136
"20 quid a week extra for people on benefits we cant afford tha" "Hehe rocket go zoom" https://t.co/Mh2aIp6Ed3— Joe 🔴🇸🇱 (@Joe 🔴🇸🇱) 1632824467
While others pointed out that “galactic Britain” sounds like a plotline straight out of Doctor Who and the news has reminded fans of an particular plot in the show where a starship “Starship UK” is used to transport most the UK population (except Scotland) and its building - from series five, episode two, titled: “The Beast Below.”
Doctor Who predicted it https://t.co/w1TN0knmh4 https://t.co/b5BuHbnDNj— Brittney Summers lime 🏳️⚧️ 🥰💙💙 (@Brittney Summers lime 🏳️⚧️ 🥰💙💙) 1632821936
Brexit MEANS BREXIT https://t.co/YhJUgXogou https://t.co/OhKgAc8RoT— Anzu (@Anzu) 1632829254
Oh, yes, Galactic Britain Surely what uk people need rn... (no) https://t.co/YmsC3ileBF https://t.co/QIwoRES8Hq— Jo 💙 Dickinson & DW era (@Jo 💙 Dickinson & DW era) 1632814958
where have i seen this before https://t.co/J9epitSBeN https://t.co/Li3Q25rUer— luke ⚢ (@luke ⚢) 1632825580
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