Le Two Fingered Salute
"Non"
The Selene Project was never popular with the Treasury. Having quietly bided their time for over two years, in late 1967 they sense the opportunity to rid Britain of what they see as costly folly. However, when set against the background of the more urgent financial crisis, negotiations are not pursued as hard as some financial hawks would like. The Project still enjoys considerable support within the Defence and Technology Ministries, while the PM is hesitant to cancel something that shows off the best of British engineering and which is supporting an industry that appears to be on the verge of delivering valuable export orders.
The negotiations with the French do not go well.
In a double blow, President de Gaulle vetoes the second British application for membership of the EEC, and French officials inform their British counterparts that France would seek all possible compensation and penalties if Britain should make a unilateral decision to abandon Selene. They remind the British, again, that the Project was formed by treaty, now registered in The Hague, and cannot legally be cancelled without the agreement of both parties. The French government is in favour of continuing and will continue to meet its obligations to "our British friends".
At a stormy session of Cabinet on the 1st of December, discussion of the Selene Project includes use of the phrase "Damn the French, just cancel it"* in favour of unilaterally walking away from the agreement, irrespective of the consequences. More moderate opinion carries the day and it is agreed to not make an immediate statement, while enquiries are made into the financial implications of a cancellation.
[* the remark is unattributed and many who were present deny it was ever said.]
By way of light relief, the following day the SPC agrees to forgo the test launch of a dummy "Explorateur" lander. The Silver Star launcher has behaved well on its last two flights and vibration tests are complete. They believe that cancelling this test will save about £4M.
At cabinet the following weekend, one of the quickest U-turns in government departmental history is on display. On the advice of his Treasury officials, the chancellor now argues against cancellation of the Project. Termination liabilities to the French could run to over £300M - a huge sum which would ultimately leave the country, and the equivalent of 3-4 months’ worth of the payments deficit. Although the matter could be delayed in the international Courts, there is little doubt that Britain would wind up liable for a sizable fraction of this amount. It would risk further poisoning Anglo-French relations for years to come and might jeopardise several co-operative defence projects. Run-down and termination penalties with British firms would be in the region of £120M, a further significant drain on the strained government finances.
The Foreign Office have also raised the possibility of protests and demands for compensation from the Australians, who have invested significantly in facilities to support Selene and other British space projects. The Technology and Defence Ministries are (as ever) in favour of continuing.
A week is a long time in politics, and the political dimension has become clearer than it was. The government has been humiliated over US loans, EEC membership and the devaluation of Sterling. As Minister for Technology Tony Benn said during the discussion "You may cancel and we shall all be damned for it"**. The previous Thursday, the Labour vote was wiped out in a by-election; a supposedly safe Labour seat was lost to the Conservatives. Two more by-elections are due in January and there are murmurs of impending defections to the Liberals. The space programme, which has just started to deliver television into British homes, is closely linked to the Selene Project in the minds of the public. Just at the moment, cancelling it would be one failure too many.
[** This time, there is no doubt what was said - it appears in the minutes.]
Although the immediate threat to the Project has been seen off, criticism of the management of Selene continues in the press and through parliamentary committees. The untimely loss of Explorateur 1, which disappeared without trace on the 8th January, provokes questions as to the basic viability of the Project.
In addition to the more reactionary outbursts, there is a strong desire to see the SPC reformed and its members replaced with leaders who will be capable of controlling costs and minimising "project creep" amongst the engineering teams and subcontractors.
Despite the recent political disagreements, British officials do receive some support from their French counterparts regarding the lack of adequate accounting controls within the Selene Project. However, unlike the British, the French have a dedicated space agency (SNES - Societe National d'Etudes Spatiale) which is tasked with managing all matters to do with space development and the allocation of funds provided by the state. The French government is therefore much better informed regarding the day to day progress and expenditures of Selene. Their side of The Project is also considerably over budget, however their attitude is more relaxed than that of the British. The French economy is booming and Selene is still regarded as part of a national programme to modernise and expand the aerospace industry.
For very different reasons to the British, the French cannot contemplate allowing Selene to be abandoned.
