The UK Space Agency has announced £17 million for seventeen UK space projects through its National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP).
The money will be used to accelerate breakthrough technologies, boost commercialisation, and reinforce the UK’s global leadership in space innovation.
The projects cover five strategic themes critical to the UK’s space ambitions: space domain awareness, in-orbit servicing and manufacturing, Earth observation, satellite communications, and position, navigation and timing.
The projects will work across climate monitoring, connectivity, sustainable satellite operations, and national security.
Space Minister Liz Lloyd said: "Space technology benefits people’s lives every day - from checking the weather to navigating your car journey home from work. This funding backs the brilliant UK innovators developing the next generation of space technology.
"By supporting our space sector, we’re strengthening the UK’s position as a world leader in space innovation and building technologies that will benefit people across the country for years to come."
The projects are anticipated to create up to 140 skilled jobs across the UK, strengthening the talent pipeline in engineering, data science and advanced manufacturing.
HR Wallingford’s AI tool will use satellite data to assess how farming practices affect water quality in our rivers and bathing waters, the University of Birmingham’s AI-powered satellite radar analysis system will help understand and respond to objects in space and BAE Systems Digital Intelligence is developing a satellite-based service to detect and track radio signals from Earth, with applications in both civil and defence contexts.
Professor Mark Sims and Professor Anna Hogg, Space Academic Network (SPAN) Co-Chairs said: "We are pleased to see how the UK Space Agency NSIP programme enables great innovation across industry and academia, often jointly supporting the development of real future technologies for the UK space sector.
"The strengthening of collaboration between industry and academia over the last decade clearly demonstrates the power of working together. The wide variety of technologies now being developed through NSIP is exciting to see, each one representing an opportunity to advance the sector and drive future growth."
