The idea of Catapults traces back to a report published in 2010: The Current and Future Role of Technology and Innovation Centres in the UK, by Dr Hermann Hauser.  This report sought to explore the perennial poor performance of the UK in deriving industrial and economic benefits of our world-leading research institutions, when compared to other countries – often without such strong research assets.  It concluded that one cause was a missing piece of ‘translational infrastructure’ in the UK, which other countries had.  That piece of translational infrastructure we now call Catapults.

Satellite Applications was chosen as one of the first Catapults due to the potential  that had been identified by the joint government/industry Space Innovation and Growth Strategy, also of 2010, and was launched in 2013. There are now 10 Catapults creating new industries around emerging technologies as diverse as Cell and Gene Therapies to Offshore Wind, all sitting at the interface between research and business, facilitating the commercialisation of new ideas as efficiently as possible.

Over our first five years we have grown to a team of 150 dedicated professionals, and we will be growing further over the next five years as we look to expand and scale up our activities in line with our 2018-2023 strategy.

The Satellite Applications Catapult operates at the heart of the space community.  At the same time we work with new customers for space data, from all parts of the economy, who might not think of space as being relevant to them. We are opening everyone’s eyes to the power of space, breaking down barriers and accelerating the adoption of space-based solutions to address some of the world’s biggest challenges.

Innovating for a better world, empowered by space.

Stuart Martin, CEO