Satellite Applications Catapult First International Partner for Houston Commercial Spaceport

The Satellite Applications Catapult signed a Memorandum of Understanding today with the City of Houston Airport System and the Houston Spaceport to become the first international partner for the city’s commercial spaceport. The MOU states a partnership between the two organisations and the intention to work together in the future.

The announcement was made today as part of a public event where Houston Mayor Annise Parker also announced the creation of a new commercial spaceport in Houston. Representatives from the UK Satellite Applications Catapult, the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA Johnson Space Center, and the Rice Space Institute were all present during the event.

Dr. Nick Veck, the Head of the CEO’s Office at the Satellite Applications Catapult commented on the MOU: “Our Memorandum of Understanding is the first step in a journey that will quickly lead to the development of innovative new services using satellite data, created from local US organisations working in partnership with British companies.

“We have already begun on our path to commercial success. We have held initial workshops, followed by substantive discussion between UK entrepreneurs and like-minded organisations here in Houston, leading to UK companies suggesting solutions of interest to the US space community.”

The Satellite Applications Catapult is an independent innovation and technology company, created to foster growth across the economy through the exploitation of space. It helps organisations make use of and benefit from satellite technologies, and brings together multi-disciplinary teams to generate ideas and solutions in an open innovation environment. Based in Harwell, near Oxford, the Catapult was established in May 2013 by Innovate UK as one of a network of centres to accelerate the take-up of emerging technologies and drive economic growth. It is a not-for-profit research organisation.