Ariane Flight VA233 carrying four European Galileo navigation satellites launches November 15, 2016 in Kourou, French Guiana | Stephane Corvaja/ESA via Getty Images
The uk government has threatened to set up a rival system to the EU ’s Galileo satellite , if Britain is ejected from the project after launch . The uk wants to recover its £ 1bn ( $ 1.3bn ) contribution to the project . The EU said that as a “ third country ” and no longer a member country , the UK could not have access to the same confidential information from Galileo as remaining members except after Brexit . uk negotiator Michel Barnier told a security conference that the rules surrounding Galileo had been in place for a long time and were well known to the UK .