In the unified-world counterfactual, the absence of wars removes the suggested reason for creating a separate air force. Aviation would remain within the army and navy, allowing those institutions to continue developing the technology. The army is imagined concentrating on internal security while the Royal Navy pursues further technical development and exploration. Under those assumptions, spaceflight would grow out of the navy's existing organization.
Notable Point · 3:57:33-3:58:05
Why the Royal Navy might become a space service
In a peaceful unified world without the wars that created an independent air force, naval institutions might inherit the leading role in space exploration.