The UK Space Agency has pledged £32m (US$51m) in grants to British companies developing satellite technology to help tackle problems such as flooding, deforestation and humanitarian crises.
The ‘International Partnership Space Programme’ (IPSP)…
The UK Space Agency has pledged £32m (US$51m) in grants to British companies developing satellite technology to help tackle problems such as flooding, deforestation and humanitarian crises.
The ‘International Partnership Space Programme’ (IPSP) will run for two years and award grants to UK space firms on the proviso that the amounts are then matched by international industry partners.
The agency cited recent work by Airbus-owned Surrey Satellites Technology – which has built a satellite to accurately map areas of West Africa to help humanitarian organisations take on the spread of Ebola – as the sort of project it wanted to support.
The government wants the funding to establish the UK as the “partner of choice” for emerging market economies, once they are in a position to develop their own space or satellite infrastructure.
The UK Space Agency expects most of the IPSP’s projects to focus on improving existing space infrastructure. However, it could also fund satellite applications, infrastructure, facilities, data, research, skills and training.
Commenting on the funding project, Greg Clark, the minister for universities, science and cities, said: “This programme will help our international partners to take advantage of British expertise in satellite technology, services and scientific research.”
“Today’s funding will give even more UK companies the chance to work on these kinds of exciting projects so that more people can enjoy the considerable economic and social benefits that new space technologies provide.”
The government wants the UK to account for 10% of the global space sector by 2030. The industry is currently worth £11.3bn a year and is growing at more than 7% annually.
