UK companies and research organisations can bid for
funding to develop technologies or data processing capabilities to
reduce the risks of collisions in space.
One of the biggest challenges facing the space sector is orbital
congestion and space debris. There are currently around 3,000
working satellites in orbit, and an estimated 130 million other
pieces of debris, including old satellites, spent rocket bodies
and even tools dropped by astronauts.
One collision could create thousands of small, fast-moving
fragments, damaging the satellites that provide everyday services
such as communications, weather forecasting or satellite
navigation. This funding will help bolster the UK’s capabilities
to track, monitor and reduce the risks of potentially dangerous
encounters with satellites or even the crewed International Space
Station.
Space debris is a global problem and the joint initiative
announced today from the UK Space Agency’s National Space
Technology Programme (NSTP) and Space, Surveillance and Tracking
Programme (SST) will enable UK companies to mature technologies
and early phase concepts to help tackle the issue.
Projects should reduce the risks of dangerous collisions in space
by monitoring, tracking or supporting the removal of potentially
hazardous objects.
Proposals could include ideas to:
- advance our capabilities to detect, track or identify objects
in orbit
- improve current approaches to compiling, cleaning or
analysing data created by SST sensors
- improve algorithms used to determine objects’ orbits,
allowing us to predict conjunctions, fragmenting or re-entering
- develop new technologies needed to conduct the removal of
debris from orbit. This includes improving or developing new
systems to help capture, manipulate, manoeuvre or de-orbit debris
using another spacecraft.
The deadline for applications is midday on 25 August 2021 and
organisations can bid for up to £200,000.
Graham Turnock, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, said:
Tracking satellites and reducing space debris will safeguard
the services we all use every day to communicate with loved
ones, access online banking, and study our ever-changing
planet.
This funding will help grow our world-class space sector and
provide pioneering minds with the resources they need to
position the UK a global leader in Space Surveillance and
Tracking.
New figures released by the UK Space Agency this month show
strong growth in the UK space sector. Income rose from £14.8
billion in 2016/17 to £16.4 billion in 2018/19, representing a
growth of 5.7 per cent in real terms, while employment rose by
3,200 from 41,900 to 45,100. Research and development spending
rose 18 per cent in real terms from £595 million in 2016/17 to
£702 million in 2018/19.
