經濟學人：英國脫歐後最後的疆土

來自專欄 外刊搬運工

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翻譯：鳳梨是只胖柯基

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Britain struggles to stay in Europe』s most important space project

英國正努力留在歐洲最重要的太空項目中

FOR a country that has not launched a rocket into space for nearly 50 years, Britain has a booming space industry. According to a government-commissioned report in 2016, it makes up 6.5% of the global space economy. The industry is worth ￡13.7bn, or $18.7 bn (more than half of which is accounted for by satellite broadcasting companies), and employs 39,000 people directly. In some niches, Britain』s contribution is even greater; it makes 40% of the world』s small satellites.

對於一個沒有向太空發射火箭近50年的國家來說，英國的航天工業正在蓬勃發展。根據政府在2016年發布的一份報告稱，英國在全球空間經濟總量中佔6.5%。行業價值137億英鎊,或187億美元(其中一半以上是來自衛星廣播公司),並提供了39000個工作崗位。在某些領域，英國的貢獻更大：英國製造了世界上40%的小型衛星。

Now the British space industry, which has been closely tied to Europe for decades, risks being knocked out of orbit by Brexit. Already Airbus, a French-headquartered multinational that is the biggest satellite-maker in Britain, has announced that it will move some of its operations from Britain to France before Brexit next March. More may follow. The industry will have to use its considerable commercial nous to hit its growth targets if Brexit provokes a deep rupture with the EU.

如今，與歐洲緊密合作了幾十年的英國航天工業，有可能因為英國脫歐而被歐洲排除在外。總部位於法國的跨國公司空中客車(Airbus)已經宣布，將在明年3月英國脫歐之前，將部分業務從英國轉移到法國。更多企業將會效仿。如果英國脫歐引發與歐盟的嚴重決裂，該航天工業將不得不利用其敏銳的商業頭腦來實現增長目標。

Matters have come to a head over Britain』s participation in the Galileo navigation project. The €10bn ($12bn) initiative provides the signals for Europe』s equivalent of America』s GPS. The EU argues that post-Brexit Britain should be excluded from any EU project that involves sensitive information, which includes Galileo』s encrypted military-grade service. Britain sees this as a protectionist gambit to win contracts from British firms.

有關英國參與「伽利略」導航項目的問題已經擺上了檯面。總投資達100億歐元(120億美元)的計劃向歐洲提供了相當於美國GPS的信號服務。歐盟辯稱，脫歐後的英國應被排除在任何涉及敏感信息的歐盟項目之外，其中包括伽利略加密的軍用級別服務。但是英國將此視為一種保護主義策略，歐盟此舉是為了阻止英國公司贏得相關的合同。

The British government is reportedly threatening to disrupt the transfer of sensitive encryption technology to Galileo unless the EU drops its bid to freeze the country out of the project. People in the industry reckon that a withdrawal of British co-operation could at least slow down the project. Brussels seems unmoved.

據報道，英國政府威脅要破壞對伽利略系統的敏感加密技術的轉讓，除非歐盟放棄將英國阻攔在項目之外的計劃。業內人士認為，英國退出合作至少會減緩該項目的進度。但是布魯塞爾方面似乎無動於衷。

The implications are serious. Already, says Graham Peters, chairman of UK space, the industry』s trade association, 「work is leaking away from Britain」 due to the uncertainty. Airbus, which has been closely involved with Galileo since its inception in the early 2000s, is moving the ground-control system for Galileo that it operates from Portsmouth to France.

影響實際是嚴重的。英國工業貿易協會中的太空部門(UK space)主席格雷厄姆?彼得斯(Graham Peters)表示，由於脫歐影響的不確定性，「工作正從英國流失」。空中客車公司自本世紀初成立以來一直與伽利略公司密切合作，但是目前正在將其在朴茨茅斯(Portsmouth)的地面控制系統部門轉移到法國。

Other important bits that Britain contributes to Galileo include the navigation payloads, which provide the system』s signals and services, made by Surrey Satellite Technology (SST), Britain』s largest manufacturer of small satellites (and part of Airbus). Work for Galileo accounts for half its business. If the company is not allowed to bid for the next generation of Galileo satellites, says Gary Lay, head of navigation systems at SST, 「we would be locked out of a decade』s worth of production. The company would look very different.」

英國貢獻給「伽利略」的其他重要信息包括導航載荷，它為英國最大的小型衛星製造商薩里衛星技術(SST)提供了系統的信號和服務。SST是英國最大的小型衛星製造商(也是空客公司的一部分)。「伽利略」計劃的工作佔了其公司業務的一半。SST的導航系統主管加里?雷(Gary Lay)表示，如果公司不被允許競標下一代的伽利略衛星，「我們將失去10年的生產總值，公司看起來將會很不一樣。」

As well as the possible loss of jobs and revenue, Britain could also lose its leading role in areas such as navigation services. This is one of the most lucrative in terms of commercial applications, in everything from drones to autonomous vehicles. Such technical leadership is called 「noble work」 in the industry. Once gone, it will be very hard to win back, says Mr. Peters.

除了可能失去工作和收入，英國也可能失去在導航服務等領域的主導地位。從無人機到自動駕駛汽車，這是最賺錢的商業應用之一。這種技術領導被稱為行業中「高尚的工作」。彼得斯稱:「一旦離開，就很難再贏回來了。」

Some think that if the worst comes to the worst Britain could build its own Galileo system. The country has the capacity to do so, but it would be very expensive; better, most reckon, to use Galileo for civil navigation and rely on America for the secure stuff.

一些人認為，如果最壞的情況發生，英國可能會建立自己的「伽利略」系統。這個國家有能力這樣做，但它將非常昂貴。大多數人認為，更好的辦法是利用「伽利略」進行民用航行，並依靠美國來獲取安全的東西。

Amid the gloom, however, there are some reasons for hope. Unlike countries that have used space projects mainly for national prestige, since the 1980s Britain』s industry has had to live on its wits, with little government support. It is thus very commercially minded; Britain has the second-biggest number of space startups in the world, after America. If Britain does lose business in the EU, it would be better placed than most to explore new frontiers, in places like the Middle East.

然而，在一片愁雲慘霧中，還是有一些希望的曙光。與那些以國家威望為主要目的的國家不同，自上世紀80年代以來，英國工業不得不靠自己的智慧去生存，幾乎沒有得到政府的支持。因此，英國工業具有商業頭腦；英國擁有世界上第二大的空間創業公司，僅次於美國。如果英國確實在歐盟失去了業務，那麼可以去像中東這樣的地方探索新的業務領域。

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