The UK Space Agency is advancing satellite technology and space-based electronics, boosting the country’s position in the global space market. Key projects focus on small satellites, satellite communications, and space sensors. Collaboration with UK manufacturers and universities fosters innovation in power supplies, RF components, and embedded systems. Electronics Weekly reports on UK Space Agency initiatives that impact electronics design, research funding, and manufacturing in space and aerospace sectors.
The UK Space Agency (UKSA) is making funding of up to £14.7 million available to UK companies to develop “cutting-edge space technologies”. The agency says the goal is strengthen the UK’s industrial capability. And the funding will officially be made available through the European Space Agency’s (ESA) General Support Technology Programme (GSTP). This is the ESA’s flagship programme for maturing ...
UK government agencies are announcing their intention to work together to support in-space manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. This is in terms of regulatory clarity and official support. It sees potential in developing the UK’s role in space-enabled manufacturing via a well-defined pathway. And such In-Orbit Manufacturing (IOM) is also one subset of the wider In-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) market. ...
The UK government will allocate £500m to national space programmes to back high-growth technologies, it said. The investment is to help British companies scale and compete on the international stage. The announcement was made at the two-day Space-Comms Expo event in London, by the UK’s space minister Liz Lloyd. Note that the total is in addition to existing commitments to ...
BioOrbit, OrbiSky and Space Forge are the three UK companies to win contracts from the UK Space Agency (UKSA) to investigate producing advanced materials in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). For example, manufacturing drugs, processing ZBLAN fluoride glass and producing semiconductor seed crystals in microgravity. Specifically, they are contracted to produce three studies. These will assess technical feasibility, mature key technologies, ...
The UK Space Agency CEO, Dr Paul Bate, is stepping down at the end of March. He has held the position for four and a half years. The change comes before the agency is officially ‘folded‘ into DSIT, the UK government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. This merger is expected to complete before April 2026. Dr Paul Bate “To ...
Airbus is opening a new facility, the Airbus Launchpad, aiming to support UK space SMEs. The location is the company’s Stevenage site. The new hub will provide SMEs, startups and research organisations with access to laboratories, workspaces and testing facilities. It will operate a no-cost residency programme and the facility can accommodate up to 50 people. It aims to strengthen ...
UK Space Agency (UKSA) funding is supporting a £20 million space innovation hub – the Westcott Space Hub – which has officially opened in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. The R&D hub aims to provide cutting-edge facilities to help space businesses grow and is expected to create up to 300 jobs. Spanning 62,000 square feet, it has testing facilities, training spaces and commercial ...
The Greek semiconductor specialist Circuits Integrated will establish its first UK presence, expanding its R&D operations, at the Surrey Research Park. The company specialises in advanced IC, antenna-in-package (AiP) and system-in-package (SiP) design. Specifically, for next-generation chip technology for space and defence communications. And it is seeking to strengthen its ties with the UK’s semiconductor and space manufacturing sectors. To ...
Lodestar Space has received £30,000 funding through the UK Space Agency’s Space Ecosystem Commercialisation Programme (SECP). This is to accelerate development of its pioneering on-orbit sensing system. The award was delivered by Space South Central, the UK regional space cluster. The R&D grant will fund the integration and testing of a new LiDAR sensor – part of a project named ...
Five space UK projects, looking to enable Earth Observation for public services, have been awarded £2.5 million. It follows a joint ESA InCubed/UKSA (UK Space Agency) funding call. The selected projects cover monitoring public infrastructure, helping farmers support wildlife and observing greenhouse gases. Another project builds a database of agricultural and biodiversity markers, and the fifth will use satellite data ...
