Author: Katie Snell

Six projects to improve infrastructure and encourage collaboration across the UK’s growing space sector have been announced today at Space-Comm Expo, following the publication of the government’s Space Industrial Plan.

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), one of the nation’s leading satellite manufacturers, has won a project from the UK Space Agency’s flagship Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund.

The £250,000 public investment, matched by the company, will enhance SSTL’s facilities with a Research and Development Imager Cleanroom in Guildford. This will support the development of cutting-edge, space-based imaging technology – the ‘eyes’ of satellites that monitor our planet and the space environment.

SCIF, which has awarded £47 million to date, for projects ranging from a space skills centre in Newcastle to a microgravity research centre in Cardiff, builds upon the UK Space Agency’s wider investments to develop the UK space ecosystem.

As set out in the Space Industrial Plan, the government is committed to continuing its support for space clusters across the UK and providing the tools needed to drive collaboration between them and catalyse further investment.

Minister for Space, Andrew Griffith said:

“Our £250,000 investment in Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd underlines the key role this Government sees for UK businesses in advancing global space capabilities.”

“Aligned with our new Space Industrial Plan, this funding will enhance SSTL’s research facilities so it can drive forward innovation in cutting-edge imaging technology, which is so crucial for satellite operations.”

The UK Space Agency is announcing £500,000 for a further five projects today to foster collaboration between the UK’s network of space clusters:

Space North: Uniting Space Hub Yorkshire, the North West Space Cluster, and Space North East England to showcase the region’s resilient communications expertise, attract inward investment and boost research and collaboration.

Unlocking Space for Agriculture: Bringing together regional space and agricultural sectors in Scotland and the East of England to explore challenge-based opportunities through space capability research and knowledge-sharing.

South West Space Partnership: Building on the strengths of Space West, the Cornwall Space Cluster, the West of England Combined Authority, Cornwall Council and Invest Bristol & Bath, this pan-regional partnership aims to promote the region’s space capability, attract international investment and develop strategic collaborations.

Power4Space: Strengthening ties between the North West Space Cluster and Midlands Space Cluster, and their respective supply chains, to seize commercial opportunities in novel power systems for deep space applications.

Using Earth Observation to monitor Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and Seaweed Production: Leveraging Earth observation capabilities within NI Space, Space Wales and the Space East clusters to monitor water bodies for Harmful Algal Blooms and Seaweed Production, improving delivery of local government services using space assets and data.

Dr Paul Bate, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, said: 

“With entrepreneurs and businesses from across the UK space sector at Space-Comm Expo, I’m pleased to announce this series of targeted projects to support the continued growth of our space ecosystem and deliver on the government’s Space Industrial Plan.

“Hot off the heels of the Chancellor’s Budget boost for Low Earth Orbit satellite manufacturing in the UK, these new projects will help catalyse investment, increase collaboration and boost prosperity across the country.”

In Spring Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced the launch of the full Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit (C-LEO) programme, building on the initial £15m C-LEO call that was announced at the Autumn Statement. This programme of up to £160 million over the next four years will unleash our country’s potential to become a global leader in next generation satellite communication technologies while creating hundreds of highly skilled jobs to boost the Prime Minister’s priority of growing our economy. This will ensure that the UK space sector is able to compete in the rapidly growing global market of LEO constellations.

The UK Space Agency funds a wide range of projects to catalyse investment, deliver new missions and capabilities, and champion space. Recent announcements include the following.

• A £2 million upgrade to the Satellite Applications Catapult’s In-Orbit Servicing and Manufacturing (IOSM) facility at the Westcott Space Cluster in Aylesbury, which will provide unique capabilities in the UK where companies can verify, validate and demonstrate a range of in-orbit operations including manufacturing, servicing, inspection, repair and assembly.
• A £10 million investment into telecoms capabilities under the European Space Agency (ESA) Advanced Research in Telecommunication System (ARTES) programme.
• The launch of the Unlocking Space for Business programme with a £2 million investment into initiatives to help organisations understand how satellite data and services could support their growth and kick off pilot projects and partnerships.
• A £7.4 million investment into collaborations between UK and international space organisations, supporting their bids for selection by major science and exploration missions.
• Support for Open Cosmos building three satellites for the ESA NanoMagSat constellation that will measure Earth’s magnetic field to help assess space weather hazards.

Space Scotland and Space East, in collaboration with South of Scotland Enterprise and AstroAgency, are at the forefront of an innovative initiative funded by the UK Space Agency’s Space Cluster Partnership Fund. This strategic partnership aims to establish robust connections between regional space and agricultural clusters in Scotland and the East of England.

The project serves as a catalyst for the development of innovative products and services, addressing challenges related to land and water through knowledge exchange, best practice sharing, networking, and collaborative efforts. By leveraging shared experience, this initiative aims to accelerate the adoption of new technologies, facilitate the development of relationships, and inspire commercial projects between partner regions.

Three fully funded workshops are planned as part of the project:

• Workshop 1 (September 2024, Edinburgh): An introductory platform for knowledge sharing, where findings from the mapping exercise will be discussed. Common goals and challenges will be identified, fostering connections between suppliers and end users.
• Workshop 2 (November 2024, East of England): Focused on specific agricultural challenges in each region. The workshop aims to encourage cross-sector dialogue, innovative solutions, and strengthen partnerships between space data providers and agricultural stakeholders.
• Workshop 3 (January 2025, South of Scotland): Bringing together participants from both regions to discuss the next steps in collaborative endeavours, explore upcoming opportunities, and set the stage for future initiatives leveraging space-derived data in agriculture.

The project outputs will be instrumental in showcasing the tangible benefits of cross-collaboration between space technology and agriculture. These outputs will not only drive innovation and attract investment for satellite data solutions, but also serve as a model for future initiatives. By demonstrating the economic impact and the potential for strengthening local economies, the project aims to position the UK as a global leader in the intersection of space technology and agriculture.

The project will cover travel and accommodation costs for each participant to attend all three workshops. As such, participant numbers are limited, therefore, early expression of interest is strongly recommended.

To discuss this opportunity to shape the future of these important areas, please contact your local space cluster manager:

Scotland                           Christina MacLeod                       christina@spacescotland.org

East of England               Stuart Catchpole                           stuart@spaceeast.co.uk

Closing date for expression of interest: 15 March 2024

Application Form SCP Project Summary and Application Form (003)

Space East, the rapidly growing cluster group for the space sector in the East of England announces today that the County of Kent – trailblazed by the University of Kent – will now be within the remit of the Space East Cluster.

Kent, known as the ‘Garden of England’ will add to Space East’s expertise and studies in space and satellite technology to support regional agriculture and food industries and even develop space-based agriculture to support human habitation in space.

Space East further enables data sharing across academic projects improving the application of space technology for this region and the UK. In addition, it provides an exciting opportunity for businesses across the counties to increase their networks and unlock new partnership opportunities. This will especially present new prospects for the 160 plus companies based on the Kent Discovery business park working across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, healthcare, technology and professional services sectors. A launch event for local businesses, academia and cluster members will be hosted by the University of Kent in June to help shape an action plan.

The University of Kent, based in Canterbury and Medway (UK), which has an impressive history of space research, has an internationally renowned School of Physics and Astronomy delivering leading science subjects for over 50 years. As a member of the Eastern Arc, the University of Kent already has a strategic collaboration between academic cluster members of the universities of East Anglia, Essex and Sussex.

Space East welcomes Professor of Molecular Physics Nigel Mason OBE as the University’s lead representative. Professor Mason has had leadership roles in many national and international research programmes and is the lead coordinator of Europlanet Research Infrastructure, Europe’s largest forum for planetary sciences. Outside Europe, he works with the emerging space communities in India and Africa.

Nigel J. Mason OBE, Professor of Molecular Physics, says: “I’m delighted that the county and the University of Kent have joined Space East, providing the opportunity for researchers and businesses to collaborate across the region with an emphasis on using space to support agriculture and developing materials to be used across the space sector.

“Kent has long been the UK’s gateway to Europe, I hope it will also become one of the UK’s gateways to space.”

Stuart Catchpole, Cluster Manager of Space East, says: “The heartbeat of any cluster is its community and the opportunities presented by its diverse membership, engagement, knowledge capabilities and expertise. We’re delighted that Kent and the University of Kent, through Professor Nigel Mason OBE has joined Space East, growing the cluster and providing even greater opportunities for our members to connect, collaborate and exchange knowledge to drive forward the space economy in our region.

“We’re particularly excited to explore how space technology can support the terrestrial agricultural sector as well as space farming.”

To find out more about Space East, visit www.spaceeast.co.uk or contact Stuart Catchpole at stuart.catchpole@newanglia.co.uk

Satellite Applications Catapult has contracted know.space to map existing UK space infrastructure, undertake a gap analysis and gather user requirements to support the creation of an effective, dynamic tool that will raise awareness and support access to space infrastructure capabilities across the UK.

Your inputs and insights are vitally important to ensure that the proposed infrastructure capabilities tool accounts for all relevant infrastructure and fits the needs of users. We would, therefore, be grateful if you could respond to this short form (3 questions) by Friday 23^rd February to ensure your inputs are included in the first iteration of the database: https://forms.office.com/e/kN1gEvSBet

Later submissions will be reflected in subsequent database refresh.

Many thanks for your valuable contributions. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact alyssa@know.space.This piece of work is part of the Local Growth Collaboration, delivered and funded by the Satellite Applications Catapult and UK Space Agency, supporting the UK Space Ecosystem. Find out more: https://sa.catapult.org.uk/space-ecosystem/

know.space-SAC- Infrastructure Mapping – Taxonomy

know.space team

Space East are very pleased to be working with the Northern Ireland Space Office who are leading a UK Space Agency-funded collaboration along with Space Wales. The project will provide knowledge exchange activities between public sector organisations, academia and SMEs in the areas of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and Seaweed farming and production.

The project outputs will be used to inform policy making, improve public sector delivery and for real-time monitoring and response to future threat scenarios while defining new market opportunities for SMEs to engage in the development of solutions to identified challenges and promoting collaboration across the cluster networks.

The project will host three workshops, one in each nation:

• Workshop 1 (March 19^th 2024, Northern Ireland) aims to bring together public sector representatives, academics and industry participants to focus on mapping and analysing existing methods for HABs detection and response plans while defining monitoring parameters to promote seaweed production and commercialisation.
• Workshop 2 (May 29^th 2024, Wales) will build on the themes of workshop 1 focussing on new research from both academic and industry partners and capability mapping in the subject areas. It is envisaged that this workshop will initiate the development of collaborative solutions for projects to bring forward to Proof of Concept stage.
• Workshop 3 (October 9^th 2024, East Anglia) will focus on commercialisation of the opportunities arising from the preceding workshops, with funding representatives from each cluster area outlining relevant, available mechanisms to bring new solution opportunities to the Proof-of-Concept (PoC) stage / Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4.

The project will cover travel and accommodation costs for each participant to attend all three workshops. As such, participant numbers are limited, therefore early expression of interest is strongly recommended.

To discuss this opportunity to shape the future of these important areas please contact your local space cluster manager:

Northern Ireland          Robert Hill                      Robert@nispaceoffice.co.uk

Wales                                Rosie Cane                    Rosie@spacewales.co.uk

East Anglia                     Stuart Catchpole         Stuart@spaceeast.co.uk

Closing date for expression of interest: February 23^rd, 2024 the application form is within the link below

CCCN Project summary and application form

STEMPOINT is an educational charity trusted by schools and community organisations in the East of England region for 40 years.

STEMPOINT acts as a bridge between education and STEM industry/business. Our aim is to inspire young people about Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) and encourage them to take up a career in STEM.

Why are we needed?  We want more young people to recognise the value of a STEM career and to be inspired to fulfil their potential.  In the East of England, we are fortunate to have a huge array of opportunities within various STEM sectors, but many employers report skills gaps and difficulty recruiting.  We believe young people need to be inspired to gain STEM skills, whatever their background and ambition for the future.  STEM education isn’t just about studying the right subjects at school; it’s about gaining the right mindset and skills for the workplace.  These skills are of vital importance for innovation and to support our economy, our country and our planet.  STEMPOINT can help broaden pupils’ horizons, showing the wide variety of jobs, careers and professions STEM offers.  We are grateful to the many volunteers who act as role models to help pupils visualise their future.

We provide insight and greater awareness of where STEM subjects could lead – by linking the world of work to the world of learning using the Gatsby Foundation benchmarks as a framework.

Inspiring the next generation

The Space Inspirations programme, sponsored by ESERO, is an initiative to attract more young people into STEM and the space industry, with the aim of supporting STEM Ambassadors to deliver successful interactions with young people, inspiring and encouraging the next generation of space professionals.  Could you help inspire young people with your own experiences?

How Space East members can become involved

STEMPOINT can help you extend your organisation’s outreach to education settings or begin your volunteering journey.  This can develop workforce skills as well as support the talent pipeline for your business.  Please contact us at admin@stempoint.org.uk for more information.

STEMPOINT are the STEM Ambassador Delivery Partner for the East of England. Join our community of more than 2000 active volunteers:

Register for one of our information sessions here or sign up as a STEM Ambassador here.

You will often hear the terms digital twin or virtual twin spoken and it’s certainly a subject we hear a lot more about at XD Innovation. We believe this is a technology that will become more prevalent over time and more mainstream. However……..what is it?

Digital twin and virtual twin are in fact two different methods. Although incredibly easy to confuse I will try and break these down to a digestible interpretation. You will often hear them used universally and sometimes contextually incorrect but there is a difference between the two which I’ll do my best to outline below.

Digital twin, in the eyes of Gartner who are the go to for all software technology research and our good friends at Dassault Systèmes.  A digital twin is a digital representation of a physical object, a process, a person or an abstraction which has a process that can be twinned. It can be a living breathing virtual model of the real. Fed by data you can play out scenarios with the digital twin before you apply them in real life to avoid issues which may have been unforeseen. This can go a long way in speeding up time to market and reduce costly re-engineering or shutdowns. The key thing to remember here is that the digital twin is always a digital representation of a real-world object or process.

Now it gets a bit trickier, virtual twins are easier understood if based on a hypothesised scenario. As outlined by Dassault Systèmes, they go beyond the capability of a digital twin. Rather than working with a physical object, they can start to formulate in the concept stage of a product or process. As the project moves from concept to design, to engineering and so on. The virtual twin will evolve in line with these milestones. It will give a representation of your vision and once equipped with enough data. It can be a simulation of your intentions. Like with a digital twin, you can expose this simulation to scenarios like weather, or a failure and the outcomes of this can feed the design process and help steer engineering. It gets to a cycle like phase where the virtual twin evolves with all new data added. Once you move to a physical product or process you are now into the digital twin world as described above. But with the advantage of all the data and knowledge captured and incorporated on the journey to this stage. A virtual twin aligns with the lifecycle of the product and in the connected world we now live in. It can be a cradle to grave process.

The largest deployment of virtual twin technology I am aware of is with Team Tempest. The next ambitious 6^th gen fighter jet collaboration between multiple geo’s and engineering companies.  A more relative example would be with Claas Tractors.  They have a virtual twin methodology in place at their production lines in Le Mans. This has been heavily utilised for the engineering and manufacturing of the Axion 900 Terra Trac. No mean feat!  The  video link in the document gives some insight into the value this offers their operations.

https://youtu.be/TIYpn-CQQlw?si=3gL8zZOpUShF5VDM

The value these methods bring to business is the chance to test scenarios before putting them into practice. This can save time, save material waste and contributes to a more sustainable process. Healthcare, automotive, aerospace and manufacturing have started to embrace these technologies at scale and no doubt they will become more accessible as time goes by.

So why am I banging on about it to you? Despite the big rollouts given in this blog. It works for any size of business, wherever you are disrupting and innovating it has its place to bring visons to fruition with less headaches. I also believe that as we learn to leverage Space, the data captured will play its part in developing products and processes and you will see these inputs in future digital and virtual twin models. Be it agricultural data or feedback from Space manufacturing.

My last comment on this topic is like all data heavy practices, it’s only as good as what you put in. Data integrity is critical at any phase but paramount in this application. The GIGO (garbage in garbage out)  acronym has been around for years and is more prevalent now than ever. You need to know what you want from the twin, ensure you feed it with good data and don’t use data unnecessarily. Just because you capture it does not mean you have to use it.