UK space agency announces new £32M programme

The UK Space Agency has announced a £32 million programme of research to bolster industry, with grants to be awarded to UK companies working with international partners in the development satellite technology to tackle issues like flooding, deforestation and humanitarian crises in emerging economies.

The International Partnership Space Programme will over the next two years. Science Minister Greg Clark said, “This programme will help our international partners to take advantage of British expertise in satellite technology, services and scientific research.”

The UK space sector is currently worth around €14 billion to the UK economy and employs over 34,000 people, according to a recent report. Some 34,300 people are directly employed and there are another 72,000 jobs supported in the supply chain.

Race to space

UK satellite companies have been quietly and competently building expertise. A recent example of this is the work of the Surrey Satellites Technology, which has five satellites helping to map parts of West Africa. The images are being used by NGOs and health workers in the ongoing Ebola crisis to help plan the best routes to evacuate people from infected areas.

The same company also worked with the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission. Its engineers contributed a component called a “momentum wheel” to help stabilise the Philae lander probe as it landed, albeit roughly, on the comet.

Other UK companies involved in the Rosetta mission include e2v, which designed the camera system that took pictures of the comet’s surface; ABSL Space Products, which provided batteries; and Moog, which provided Philae’s helium tanks. The new programme will award grants of up to up to 50 per cent, or higher for small and medium companies. The closing date for application is the 15 December.