Back in 1997, Pierce Brosnan was looking for a GPS decoder in his second James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies after destroying a giant satellite in his first film Goldeneye.
The World was almost not Enough for 007 in 1999 but now England has decided to leave Europe Another Day and it looks like not even James Bond can save the day.
As England prepares to crash out of the European Union as the world celebrates International Day of Human Space Flight on April 12th, let's celebrate Yuri Gagarin's 1961 achievement as well as America's first flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia OV-102 that came coincidently, 20 years later in April 1981.
Infighting never helped 006 and 007 resolve anything and now England is standing at the precipice, getting ready to jump and losing a sattelite is probably the last thing on their mind as parliament continues to fight amongst themselves.
Let's give the United Kingdom the space they want but the question is, how much space will they want and how much space will the world give them?
I am of course talking about room for satellites in space in what sounds like a job for James Bond but Commander Bond can't blow anything out of space just yet as England has invested heavily in the European Space Agency's satellite development.
While visiting an ESA Test Centre, I was told that England had insisted that only European countries would be able to access the sensitive satellite information but then decided to leave Europe altogether.
Their investment seems wasted but don't worry Great Britain can always build their own system which they estimate will cost between £2- £5 billion.
This satellite system similar to the American GPS network is vital for all kinds of commercial and military activities but Britain seems determined to pull the plug and start from scratch and here is the problem. Europe operates a satellite system and England has helped finance that project but is there any space for a second system? Seriously, how do you justify additional satellites floating around Earth's orbit and how do you justify the expense?
Is there any room left up there with Chinese, Indian, European, American and Russian satellite systems? England I believe has invested in American satellites in the past so they should be able to use them but I can't help but think of the James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies in which Pierce Brosnan has to find a GPS unit being used by a ruthless Fake News media mogul.
Will England get their GPS system back or will James Bond have to sleep with 27 countries to gain access to the sensitive data? The World is Not Enough for Bond so maybe it is time for 007 to suit up and fight Europe in space or maybe just maybe, the Navan born Pierce Brosnan can get hold of an Irish passport and driving licence and move freely from port to port.
BREXIT might be a Titanic success but even Columbia OV-102 is remembered more for its fatal final journey on February 1st 2003 than it's first flight on April 12th 1981. Over 100 years ago, The Belfast built ship RMS Titanic left Ireland on April 11th 1912 and steamed into history.
SPACE RACE: In the absence of the Space Shuttles, America has had to rely on Russian rockets.
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