Space Capabilities Catalogue: Taxonomy

Written by Luca Aldridge & Patrick Stewart

The Space Capabilities Catalogue

The Space Capabilities Catalogue (SCC) is a comprehensive platform designed to showcase the UK’s capabilities in satellite and space-enabled applications. It provides detailed insights into organisations within the space industry, including economic and supply chain data, with a focus on Industry, Academia, and Infrastructure. It aims to promote collaboration, drive innovation, and boost foreign direct investment and exports.

Introduction

The SCC is your gateway to exploring the UK’s thriving Space Sector. Designed to help you navigate the sectors intricate supply chain, the SCC assigns every organisation one or more tags based on extensive research. These tags reflect any public offerings by an organisation in the space sector and is based on their products, services, online presence, outreach materials, case studies, and news articles.

This blog post will guide you through the Catalogue’s Taxonomy and show you how to make the most of its features to enhance your user experience.

The SCC’s Internal Supply Chain Taxonomy

Originally inspired by frameworks like the NASA’s Systems Engineering Handbook[1], the OECD’s Handbook on Measuring the Space Economy[2], and the ESA Technology Tree V3.0, the SCC’s Taxonomy (Figure 1) leverages the Catapults technical knowledge to provide an encompassing vision of the UK Space Sector. Throughout its use, the Taxonomy has evolved to capture over 600 detailed systems to reflect the growing landscape of the UK Space Ecosystem. It now includes new categories such as In-Orbit Servicing and Manufacturing (IOSM), Space Based Solar Power (SBSP), and Robotics.

Figure 1: Satellite Applications Catapults Space Sector Taxonomy

Mastering the Filters

The SCC dashboards feature several dropdown filters (Figure 2) that allow you to identify organisations based on their capabilities and technical specialities. These filters dynamically adjust visual elements on the dashboards – such as cards, pie charts, and tree graphs – making it easier to navigate and refine your search across various dashboards within the SCC. Familiarity with these filters will aid your navigation across all the SCC’s dashboards.

Figure 2: Supply Chain dashboard with Filters pane highlighted

Refining your Search

The Taxonomy is detailed yet intuitive, ensuring you can quickly find the information you need. For example, “Control Systems”, which relates to hardware enabling satellite control in-orbit, can be found in both the “Upstream” -> “Build” -> “Hardware” and “Beyond Earth” -> “In-Space Services” -> “Space Hardware”. This dual listing ensures comprehensive coverage and simplifies the discovery process.

Our Taxonomy is also coded to other widely used Space Sector Taxonomies / frameworks (Figure 3), accessible via the “Other UK Taxonomies” and “International Taxonomies” dropdowns. This includes the UKSA’s Size & Health fields and OECD’s Handbook segments.

Figure 3: Filters pane with variety of Taxonomies highlighted

Examples Searches: Finding Exactly What You Need

Navigating the vast UK space sector can be daunting, but by using the filters we’ve discussed, you can focus on areas that matter most to you. Start by using the “Supply Chain” dropdown on the dashboard in the top left or through the “Landing Page” (Figure 4) – both options offer the same filtering capabilities, though dashboard filters provide more granular control.

Figure 4: Landing Page with “Supply Chain” fields highlighted

For this example, we will be interested in organisations that provide “Optical Imagery” of any kind (Figure 5). You can find this by selecting “Optical Imagery” from the “Downstream” sector, “Analyse” activity, and “Geospatial Analytics” category within the “Supply Chain” dropdown.

Figure 5: “Supply Chain” filter in use, selecting “Optical Imagery” from the “Downstream” sector, “Analyse” activity, and “Geospatial Analytics” category

Once the dropdown has been selected the rest of the dashboard has adapted to the selection. The “Key Metrics” in the top right now shows the aggregate data from the area of interest and the horizontal list now shows all organisations that actively promote their provision of Optical Imagery data from satellites. Once the tree graph has been expanded horizontally you can see the steps in granularity. What is also apparent is that the area “Optical Imagery” can be further analysed into a few more areas which are listed under the “System 2” heading in the tree graph.

Multiple areas can be selected across the “Supply Chain” drop down for a complete list in your interest area, as such it is important to familiarise yourself with a few of the “Sector”, “Activity”, and “Category” areas. One of the ways of doing this is to expand the dropdown of the “Supply Chain” filter to look through the different levels or by using the Taxonomy infographic above (Figure 1). Alternatively, the tree graph can be expanded and explored for any area in the Supply Chain which are applicable to your area of Interest.

Once you identify relevant organisations, click on them in the horizontal card scroller at the bottom of the dashboard, this filters the dashboard to show the Space Sector areas the organisation operates in or has UK capability. This feature is useful for researching specific organisations, finding their allocated tags, and cross-referencing with the UK Space Sector to identify competitors or similar offerings. For a deep dive into info on a specific organisation select the organisation in question and then click the “Org. Info” button in the top right (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Card selected, and “Org. Info” button highlighted

Summary

The Space Capabilities Catalogue (SCC) is an invaluable tool for anyone involved in the UK’s space sector. By mastering the Taxonomy and filters, you can easily identify and explore organisations that align with your specific needs and interests. The detailed filters and comprehensive listings ensure that users can access relevant information, making the discovery process seamless and effective. Whether for initial research or in-depth analysis, the SCC offers the tools and insights you need to navigate the ever-evolving UK space landscape effectively.

Start exploring today and unlock the full potential of the UK’s space sector with the SCC and for more information, please contact Patrick Stewart – patrick.stewart@sa.catapult.org.uk.

[1] https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/nasa_systems_engineering_handbook_0.pdf

[2] https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-handbook-on-measuring-the-space-economy-2nd-edition_8bfef437-en.html