Annual Report 2024

During 2023, we successfully spun-out Space Solar Innovations Ltd, (with the Catapult as a minority shareholder) to develop technological demonstrators for space-based solar power. Space Solar passed a major milestone earlier this year, demonstrating a working prototype of the world’s first 360-degree wireless power transmission system. It is now scaling up to develop a system that can deliver power from space.

During 2023, we formed a core team for our sustainable finance intervention and defined its strategy and methodology. Following a detailed market analysis, we are increasing our work with environmental consultancies that use satellite data on behalf of companies that are setting ESG-related targets

In partnership with Route2, a specialist consulting firm, we are already developing geospatial impact indicators for sustainable investors. We are collaborating on an initial test case centred around soybean production and deforestation on Indigenous territories in Brazil.

We provide state-of-the-art satellite data for UK organisations to monitor their own methane emissions, and those of their suppliers, driving more effective climate action as well as boosting the UK’s reputation as a global leader in satellite-based emissions monitoring.

Funded by UKSA, our Methane Monitoring Data Supply for UK Programme is encouraging UK organisations to consider the benefits of using satellite-derived data applications to monitor facilities for emissions in sectors including oil and gas, farming, large industrial processes and waste management.

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Our ‘Rural Connected Colombia’ project plays a key role in shaping policy and commercialising space/terrestrial 5G communications for rural communities. We are developing satellite technology to connect rural areas in Colombia with reliable and affordable broadband internet, based on our state-of-the-art future network testbeds in the UK. During 2023, we completed feasibility and implementation planning and developed a technical policy and business roadmap, and we are now piloting a connectivity solution with AgriTIERRA before rolling it out throughout Colombia.

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The Hybrid Connex Digital Ambulance of the Future project, funded by the European Space Agency in collaboration with the NHS, aims to equip the UK’s ambulance sector with resilient connectivity by seamlessly combining 4G, 5G and satellite connections. With access to our bespoke testbed facilities, we integrated technology, and de-risked and verified different stages throughout the project’s development. The project has created a blueprint for fully connected digital ambulance services, providing community-based care and diagnostic support to patients while eliminating unnecessary trips to emergency departments.

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Through our low-earth orbit intervention, we are boosting the uptake of autonomous vehicles and urban systems designed for it by developing infrastructure that supports Position Navigation Timing (PNT) services.

During 2023, we finished installing our E-Grid Sync project to demonstrate PNT in the UK’s national electricity grid, a project that serves as an important test case for the technology en route to commercialisation. Our SAFEROUTE6G project, led by HITEC Luxembourg, focuses on whether 5G and 6G can provide highly reliable, low-latency communications for remote monitoring and driving.

Our coordinated autonomy intervention focuses on faster computing that can empower autonomous services and applications for different situations. During 2023, we identified several opportunities, including mail delivery via drone to the Orkney Islands with Royal Mail and developing real-time video analytics, drone swarming capability, situational awareness and UTM integrations within the small satcom segment.

A major milestone in 2023 was opening our Drone Test and Development Centre (DTDC) at Westcott. The facility provides a runway and flexible workshop spaces for developing innovative drone technology, as well as testing capabilities that support Beyond Visual Line of Sight operation, pilot training and remote flight operations. Our first DTDC customer, Skyports Drone Services, is already using the facilities as its flight operations headquarters.

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There are an estimated one million pieces of space debris between 1cm and 10cm in orbit, many from disused satellites. Tackling space debris is vital for future space exploration and protecting our everyday services – from the financial system to weather forecasting and broadband – and presents an ideal proving ground to perform close proximity in-orbit operations with advanced robotics. Increasing this capability could unlock a range of commercial opportunities in space beyond debris removal, including spacecraft servicing and the manufacture of large structures in orbit.

Our IOSM intervention helps to develop the technology and systems needed for servicing and repairing satellites in orbit and upgrading their capabilities with new hardware and software. The Beyond Earth team lead our IOSM activities which includes our Robotics Development Centre at Westcott, with expertise in robotics, manufacturing and in-orbit operation.

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IOSM allows key activities such as inspection, repair, assembly and upgrades to be carried out in space. The Catapult provides UK organisations with access to world-leading IOSM expertise and facilities.

In May 2023, we launched our state-of-the-art IOSM Yard at Westcott. This is the UK’s first IOSM facility and it is capable of verifying, validating and demonstrating IOS operations and technologies before launch, using robotic equipment to simulate a microgravity environment. We have already conducted trials at the Yard with operators for commercial contracts and grant-based activities and attracted £2m in further funding to upgrade the Yard’s functionality from UKSA. In 2023, we hosted multiple visits from Government departments and commercial organisations from the space as well as automotive, energy and maritime sectors.

• We run the SPIN (Space Placements in Industry) programme, which provides university students with paid internships in companies in the space sector and will double in size in 2024.
• More than 3,000 engagements with young people and students from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 5, and into universities, describing STEM career opportunities and highlighting the roles available to students.
• We provided support for the inaugural Race2Space rocket engine competition for students from nine universities to hot fire test the rocket engines they designed and built using industry-standard facilities.
• With the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) we supported the Workforce Foresighting Hub project to ensure the skills of the future workforce meet the needs of IOSM.
• We are part of the UKSA Space Skills Advisory Panel, developing a national skills strategy, together with representatives from industry, academia and government; and part of developing the Space Workforce Action Plan.

• The Researcher in Residence programme, funded by the UK Research and Innovations’ Engineering and Physical Sciences Council, and run by us enabled four researchers to work collaboratively with us on projects.
• Coordinated a Knowledge Exchange sandpit with University College London (UCL) researchers. UCL unlocked c.£40,000 funding to offer to researchers to explore solutions in air quality assessment; space traffic management and domain awareness; and off-Earth power-supply and generation.
• As part of the Academic Expertise Portal (AEP), we recruited an Academic Engagement Lead to develop the portal within the UKSA Local Growth Collaboration Award. The AEP maps UK academic capabilities in the Space sector for consultants, researchers, and industry to build consortia, partnerships and conduct analysis.
• Issued 50 Letters of Support in 2023 and 2024 enabling growth and innovation across the sector, unlocking funding for critical collaborative research and development

In September 2023, we launched the first ESLL at Petroc in north Devon and created the Green Technology Innovation Voucher scheme, which offers support and access to ESLL facilities. This ESLL will kick-start trials of and demonstrate sustainable agricultural and environmental technology. We are in discussions with the newly formed Agri-Tech Centres on the next phase of the ESLL as we scale our activities.

In 2023, we held an Earth Observation for Sustainable Finance event to raise awareness of the opportunities of space technology for sustainable finance applications and to point potential innovators to the SCE as a mechanism for support. Our new Earth Observation for Sustainable Finance open innovation call offers financial support to businesses with solutions that address these challenges. Over 2023, we have expanded the SCE beyond EO to stimulate growth in broader space-enabled services across the UK.

Our Sprints deliver value to businesses at any stage of development, from initial concepts to large and well-established firms, to help commercialise innovative satellite-based solutions.

In 2023, we worked with businesses including:

• Agtelligence – shaping a service around sustainable farming solutions and monitoring.
• Dilify – shaping a technology direction and business case focused on the Indian rubber supply chain into Europe and the impending EUDR deforestation legislation.
• Royal Horticultural Society – exploring a State of Gardening report to identify biodiversity with cultivated gardens
• Urban Data Dynamics – shaping an EO solution for monitoring yellow disease within sugar beet crops. We are supporting a forestry monitoring solution with an application to building to prototype.

Our report ‘Creating a Global Centre for Space Finance in the UK’ aims to educate the financial community on the opportunities in space investment. Its findings are based on extensive work with pension funds, capital markets and insurance companies. We launched the report at an event chaired by Mark Garnier MP and attended by the Lord Mayor of London.

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Over the past year, we engaged with international stakeholders from government, industry and academia across the Middle East, East Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe and North America. Through our Ecosystem Mapping Programme, we have delivered projects in Singapore, Canada and Germany to identify mutual areas for space investment and export.

We engage with key stakeholders in the UK Government to ensure that our international strategy aligns to broader Government priorities, including UKSA International, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) Space Directorate International and Department for Business and Trade (DBT) Space.

In 2023, we took part in UKSA’s Unlocking Space for Business programme to increase awareness, engagement and demand for satellite data and services from the UK space supply chain in the transport, logistics and financial services sectors. We engaged with 300 organisations and provided technical expertise in 30 exploration workshops. We delivered space and satellite learning development modules and developed value propositions to encourage uptake of space data and services by private sector companies.