Tag: space sector

£10.9m boost for Scottish space sector

The projects come from the National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP) – designed to invest in high-potential technologies and drive innovation and growth

Five projects funded by the UK Space Agency across Scotland have been announced on the opening day of the Farnborough International Airshow, providing over £10.5 million in Scottish investment.

The projects come from the National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP) – designed to invest in high-potential technologies and drive innovation and growth in the space sector across the UK. 

Two Scottish projects will receive £8.5 million of the total funding for UK Major Projects. These include funding for a sub-orbital rocket test by HyImpulse (Glasgow) from SaxaVord spaceport in Shetland. 

A project led by Spire Global (Glasgow) will further develop technology to supply unique weather forecasting data to global numerical weather prediction centres.

Not only will the funding support the growth of UK space businesses and create new jobs, but it will enhance Scotland’s offering of space capabilities and services to international investors and major space players. 

An additional three ‘Kick Starter’ projects across Scotland will receive £2.4million between them. These projects are designed to support technologies and applications that are in an earlier stage of development and increase their readiness for use in commercial and scientific endeavours.

These projects include a partnership between University of Strathclyde, UK Atomic Energy Authority and SJE Space, for a feasibility study into whether terrestrial directed energy drilling (plasmas/microwaves) could be adapted for space applications, specifically lunar exploration.

Speaking at the Farnborough International Airshow where he met with a number of Scottish exhibitors, Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said: “This is an exciting time for the Scottish space sector as we look forward to the first satellite launch from SaxaVord in Shetland later this year.

“The burgeoning industry plays a vital role in our economy and employs thousands of people across the country. It was fantastic to meet with some of them here and hear about their pioneering plans which could be a key driver for growth, jobs and investment in Scotland.

“Scotland is a major player in the international space industry and I am delighted the UK Government is continuing to back the sector with £10.9 million in funding for these five Scottish projects.”

Dr Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, said: “These new projects will help kickstart growth, create more high-quality jobs, protect our planet and preserve the space environment for future generations.

“They go to the heart of what we want to achieve as a national space agency that supports cutting-edge innovation, spreads opportunity across the UK and delivers the benefits of space back to citizens on Earth.”

Chair of the UKspace trade association, John Hanley, said: “This investment into the space industry demonstrates the importance of funding through a national programme to unlock innovative collaborations in all parts of the UK.

“We hope this will further strengthen the sector and build upon the growth we have seen in recent years.”

PROJECT SUMMARIES:

Major Projects

  • SHARP – Sustainable Hybrid: Accelerated Rocket Programme 

Funding: £4,995,000  

This project will set out to conduct a vertical launch of a sounding rocket in the UK with the final goal being the build completion of the second stage of the orbital rocket ready for testing. HyImpulse, in partnership with Cranfield University, Birmingham University and the AVICON Partnership, intends to provide a fully vertically integrated launch service for a low-cost, fast, flexible, and reliable deployment of small satellites to low earth orbits. 

  • Operational Hyperspectral Microwave Sounder-Satellite (OHMS-Sat) 

Funding: £3,524,000

Led by Spire Global in partnership with STAR-Dundee Ltd, the Met Office and RAL Space (UKRI STFC), this project will build on the prior developments of the Hyperspectral Microwave Sounder (HYMS) to move it towards an operational mission to supply weather forecasting data to global numerical weather prediction (NWP) centres and create unique weather products. 

Kick Starter Projects

  • DIGGER – Drilling and Integrated GigaHertz-Generated Energy Resource for Lunar and Asteroid applications  

Funding: £845,000

In partnership with University of Strathclyde, UK Atomic Energy Authority and SJE Space, DIGGER is a feasibility study into whether terrestrial directed energy drilling (plasmas/microwaves) could be adapted for space applications, specifically lunar exploration.

  • Direct Detection Receivers for Millimetre Wave Radiometry  

Funding: £827,000

Led by UKRI / STFC / RAL Space in partnership with University of Glasgow and Spire Glasgow, the project will develop the critical low noise amplifier and detector technology which will be at the core of the next generation of atmospheric remote sensing instrumentation. This technology will go beyond gathering data for weather prediction, with use cases being developed in emerging fields such as security imaging, and theft prevention.      

  • TARS-IOD: Flight-ready model for In-Orbit Demonstration of Tomorrow’s Astro-Robotic System

Funding: £804,000

Lodestar Space Ltd. will develop a platform-agnostic modular robotic arm to perform contact dependent dynamic space operations. Intended for flight on Momentus’ Vigoride platform, the partnership also involves Growbotics and the University of Glasgow to equip the UK with sovereign capabilities for inspecting, protecting, and repairing vital assets beyond Earth.

UK space specialists hit new heights with ten contract wins

– Space strategy firm gains clients in spite of the Ukrainian conflict’s impact on business –

An international space firm with a strong presence in Scotland and Ukraine is flying high after landing a host of new contract awards in the first quarter of 2022.

Some of the biggest names in the global space sector have secured the services of AstroAgency, including the European Space Agency’s network of UK Business Incubation Centres.

Space debris removal company, Astroscale, has also joined the roster alongside the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s RAL Space, which carries out scientific research, technology development and operates facilities for the UK space sector.

The latest spree of space contracts comes with a number of its team members based in Ukraine, leading the firm to release a statement at the onset of the Russian invasion from AstroAgency’s Ukrainian staff, explaining its determination to continue supporting its clients and the growth of the international commercial space sector.

Space sector entrepreneur and AstroAgency founder, Daniel Smith, said: “It’s been a rollercoaster start to the year, between the team’s efforts made to deliver on current projects despite the impact on some of our team members due to the invasion of Ukraine, together with a number of long-term target clients being secured.

“The growth of the company to reach our 40th client milestone has been a huge positive for us at a difficult time and we’re all delighted to have the chance to work with so many key space organisations from across the globe, in both the private and public sectors.

“We’re fully focused on helping them reach their potential and realise their goals.”

Additions to AstroAgency’s public sector arsenal include strategic market research projects for the UK Space Agency and the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, the latter being the development of a space strategy for the regions of Norfolk and Suffolk following on from the firm’s work on Scotland’s space strategy last year.

In the private sector, the agency has onboarded Earth Blox, a company that empowers non-experts with information from satellite observations, allowing any organisation to translate raw satellite data into actionable insights without needing to write a single line of code.

Other projects include promotional marketing for Spelfie, an app which uses satellite imagery to produce space “selfies”, and working with Glasgow-based, Trade in Space, which combines space and blockchain technology to process data and enable transactions of global agricultural assets.

Andrea Stewart, Head of Marketing and Communications at Astroscale, said: “We’ve been working on a number of voluntary initiatives together over the last 18 months and we’re delighted to have found a project to work on together as a client at the start of 2022.

“The AstroAgency team are passionate and insightful, we hope to find more opportunities to collaborate together in the future.”

The contract awards follow on from a recently secured project with the UK Space Agency to support start-up space businesses on the ‘Leo’ Accelerator programme, and AstroAgency’s partnership with the University of Edinburgh to guide students and young entrepreneurs considering launching space sector businesses or working in the industry.

The Edinburgh headquartered company has also spearheaded the development of a roadmap for a more sustainable space ecosystem for the Scottish Government, alongside partners Optimat and Space Scotland’s Environmental Task Force.

AstroAgency Chief Operating Officer Daria Filichkina, said: “We’ve only just passed two years as a company and its exciting to see us add strategic space projects for governments to the growing list of private space companies that we work with around the world. 

“We’re in a fortunate position, writing strategies and helping to build awareness in how access to space can be leveraged to support the economy, society, the fight against climate change or space debris. Ultimately, we hope that by sharing success stories we will help draw more businesses into this fast growing industry.”

In addition, AstroAgency is playing a key role in supporting international space delegation visits to the UK, including a partnership with the Swiss Business Hub (Switzerland Global Enterprise), part of the Embassy of Switzerland in London, to organise a space networking event with the University of Edinburgh. The project mirrors their work last year to deliver a Scottish Space Day in Dubai alongside Scottish Development International.

AstroAgency offers businesses and organisations a unique combination of strategic marketing support, brand building techniques, space media coverage, detailed technical knowledge and all-important market intelligence.

The company, which works across the space value chain from satellite manufacture and launch to downstream data analysis, has a presence in London, Milan, Amsterdam and Toulouse. The firm’s 25-strong team are all remote based, although the company plans to open its first office outside of Europe by the end of 2022.

In 2021, international governments invested an estimated $92 billion in the space sector according to Euroconsult, another of AstroAgency’s flagship clients, up by 8% from $84.5 billion the previous year, while the EU collectively invested $2.6 billion in the same period.

Daniel Smith added: “The interest and investment into enabling access to space will continue to soar and both businesses and entrepreneurs entering the sector now, whether technical or non-technical members of the space supply chain, will be in an excellent position to benefit from the huge opportunities which lie ahead.”

For more information on AstroAgency, visit: https://astroagency.co.uk/