UK Space Agency announces £1.8mln funding
Divided across nine projects the £1.8mln funding is part of the Enabling Technologies Programme (ETP).
The funding will support new UK space applications, with projects on material bonding for space aircraft, personalised tourniquet system for astronaut blood flow exercises, and satellite observations, among others.
The funding was announced on the first day of the UK’s first In-Orbit Servicing and Manufacturing (IOSM) conference on the Harwell Science Campus.
The IOSM focus on sustainability by enabling spacecraft to be repaired and adjusted during flight.
The UK Space Agency is also backing new studies on the IOSM market and new initiatives in the field.
Launched in September 2022 in partnership with the UKRI Science and Technology Facilities Council, the ETP has supported 41 technologies with a £8.6mln cash injection.
The ETP has been incorporated into the National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP) and the projects are part of the NSIP Kick Starter
The projects backed by the ETP funding are listed below:
ARGANS (£250,000) – on global shorelines capability, aiming to map global coastline trends.
University of Derby (£150,000) – on applications and development of a material bonding method.
Messium (£120,000) – on a wheat biomass estimator.
Ultima Forma Ltd (£120,000) – on electroformed modular Q-band waveguide assemblies.
ICL (£250,000) – on space applications of nitrogen vacancy-in-diamond magnetometer.
Surrey Space Centre, University of Surrey (£250,000) – on ultra-low orbits: air breathing electric propulsion spacecraft.
University of Northumbria at Newcastle (£140,000) – Personalised tourniquet system for spaceflight in low Earth orbit and beyond to perform a blood flow restriction exercise countermeasure in space.
University of Strathclyde (£250,000) – on tuneable radiation-resilient (AlGa)2O3 UVC photodetectors.
Frontier Space Technologies Ltd (£250,000) – on fluidic, electrical connectivity, and biocompatibility upgrade studies for the SpaceLab microgravity laboratory.
