A new £1.2 million UK Space Agency funding call announced
A new £1.2 million UK Space Agency funding call has been announced to make space safer. UK companies and research organisations can bid for funding to develop initiatives to reduce the risks of collisions in space.
The UK Space Agency funding is a joint initiative. It’s with the UK Space Agency’s National Space Technology Programme (NSTP) and Space, Surveillance and Tracking Programme (SST).
Why is the initiative needed?
There is an estimated 130 million pieces of debris orbiting earth and 3,000 satellites. One collision could create thousands of small fast-moving fragments. These could damage the satellites that we rely on for satellite navigation, communication, and weather forecasting.
The UK Space Agency funding will help the UK monitor, track, and reduce the risks of potentially dangerous encounters.
Proposals should reduce the risks of dangerous collisions in space via tracking, monitoring, and removing potentially hazardous objects.
They could include ideas to:
- Improve current approaches to cleaning, compiling, or analysing data created by SST sensors
- Advance our capabilities to track objects in orbit
- Improve algorithms used to determine the orbit of objects, allowing prediction of conjunctions, fragmenting or re-entering
- Develop new technologies needed to remove debris from orbit
- Improving or developing new systems to manipulate, capture, manoeuvre or de-orbit debris using another spacecraft
What’s available?
Organisations can bid for up to £200,000. Projects must start by 1st November 2021 and be fully complete by 31st March 2022.
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.”
How to apply
To apply for this UK Space agency funding, you will need to complete an application. It will include:
- Cover letter
- Application
- Project summary
- Technical case
- Project deliverables
- Milestone payment plan
- Company/organisation background
- Organisation eligibility
- CVs
- Financial information
The submissions requirements list includes the following:
- Cover Letter
- Template A – application form
- Template B – full proposal
- Finance (Excel) spreadsheet
- Grant applicant checklist (Excel)
Submission deadline: 12:00pm (midday) 25th August 2021
Applications must be sent by email to the UK Space Agency National Space Technology Programme. Late submissions will not be accepted.
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