For the latest news, follow us on Twitter: @CI_DesignMag, Facebook or LinkedIn GOVERNMENT FUNDING SUPPORTS SPACE SECTOR INNOVATION
Five new projects have been awarded a share of over £1million of Government funding to work on innovative space technology. The funding will see UK companies and organisations working with partners such as NASA, and space agencies from Canada, Japan and Italy. The UK Space Agency’s National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP) is the first fund dedicated to supporting the UK space sector’s innovation through collaborations with international partners designed to contribute to UK science, security and prosperity. Projects to remotely probe ice on Mars
to help explorers find life below the surface, a system to warn of impacts of flood risks to infrastructure based on research in India, and a scheme to design UK imaging technology for a space telescope, are among the new international initiatives to receive backing from the NSIP. Dr Graham Turnock, chief executive of
the UK Space Agency, said: “With rapid technological innovation, space offers a broad and growing range of opportunities to support economic activity and protect the environment. These projects champion the best
InRange MHI H3 rocket
of British innovation while strengthening our partnerships around the world.” The International element of NSIP aims to
increase UK exporting potential, strengthen research partnerships around the world that complement our existing activities through the European Space Agency, and develop key space technologies and capabilities important to the UK’s security interests. The UK space sector has grown by over 60%
since 2010. The UK remains a leading member of the European Space Agency, which is independent of the EU. ESA membership allows the UK to cooperate in world-leading science on a global scale, enabling UK scientists and researchers access to a range of international R&D programmes. The five projects are:
• Mars Ice Mapper SAR Antenna Feasibility Study, Oxford Space Systems, Oxford, £160,000. Consortium partner: Canadian Space Agency.
• InRange Launch Vehicle Telemetry Service, Inmarsat, London, £258,000. Consortium partners: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Japan; Safran Data Systems,
France; Haigh-Farr Inc., USA. • The UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA),
SCHAEFFLER TO OPEN NEW CENTRAL LABORATORY COMPLEX
Schaeffler is investing around 80 million euros in a new central laboratory complex in Herzogenaurach. The investment is aimed at securing the Schaeffler Group’s competitiveness and ability to realise future opportunities, as well as strengthening the position of
its Herzogenaurach campus as a centre of technological excellence. “The idea of the new central laboratory complex is to make key
technologies available on an integrated, cross-divisional, basis so that we can, for example, develop products for sustainable and carbon-neutral mobility and energy ecosystems,” explained Uwe Wagner, Schaeffler AG’s chief research & development officer. “To develop solutions for megatrends such as carbon neutrality, next-generation mobility, and automation, we also need to boost our ability to rapidly develop our core competencies across a wide range of disciplines, from materials and surface technology to electrochemistry, electronics, and digitalisation. The new central laboratory complex will provide the ideal springboard for this.”
www.schaeffler.co.uk
I
t has now been one year since we entered our first lockdown
and the world as we know it changed completely. But while some industries, and sadly many companies, have suffered greatly, others have thrived.
The medical sector is an area we have, understandably, covered
regularly in the last 12 months, and the innovations keep on coming. In fact in this issue we’re covering areas ranging from how the 3D printing of nasal swabs is helping in the fight against COVID-19, and connector solutions for medical applications, to why medical devices need to be protected against cyber attack, and digitalisation of the industry. Is your company developing some interesting technologies? Let me
know by sending an email to
rmorling@datateam.co.uk. Rachael Morling - Editor
4 MARCH 2021 | DESIGN SOLUTIONS
Long Term Sustainability Guidelines: Promoting Space Sustainability, £85,000. UNOOSA will support international efforts
to promote space sustainability by identifying examples of the sustainable use of outer space through a series of events and outreach efforts. This project will also inform future UNOOSA capacity-building efforts to promote the future sustainability of outer space. It will encourage all actors to implement the UN’s LTS Guidelines for the Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities to the fullest extent possible. • Impact-based Flood Forecasting for India, HR Wallingford, Oxfordshire, £265,000. Consortium partners: Sayers and Partners (SPL),
D-Orbit UK, Dr. Steven Reece – The Information Group, Oxford University. • Enhancing UK EMCCD camera technology for space applications: from UK involvement in the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to future global projects, The Open University, £279,000. Consortium partners: NASA JPL, U R Rao
Satellite Centre (ISRO), Teledyne e2v (Te2v), XCAM, Grey Consultants.
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ uk-space-agency
REFLEX PHOTONICS AWARDED
INTRASATELLITE OPTICAL INTERCONNECT CONTRACT
Reflex Photonics, a Smiths Interconnect company, has been awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to deliver thousands of SpaceABLE 28 optical module devices to be used in state-of-the-art, high-throughput, communication satellites (HTCS) that will be deployed into geostationary orbit. The SpaceABLE28 line will
provide radiation-resistant optical interconnect modules tested and qualified for use in harsh space environment. Reflex Photonics has benefited
from support from the European Space Agency ARTES Scylight program with financial contribution from the Canadian Space Agency to pursue the development of advanced, high-speed, digital intrasatellite optical fibre communication modules. Tullio Panarello, vice president and
general manager Fibre Optics and Components at Smiths Interconnect, commented: “The optimisation of our radiation-resistant transceivers to address the rigorous demands of GEO HTCS would not have been possible without the reputable cross-functional teams at Reflex Photonics and the invaluable contribution of the Canadian and European space agencies.”
www.smithsinterconnect.com
ifm electronic has achieved 40 years of sustained growth in the UK. Its UK operation was set up in March 1981 with just two employees and its first-year turnover was around £100,000. Today it has a staff of 64 and an annual turnover in excess of £30 million, with ambitious plans for further growth in coming years.
www.ifm.com/gb/en
RS Components (RS) has expanded its industrial control portfolio with a range of IIoT-enabled technologies from SICK. As a result of the ongoing strategic partnership between the two companies, RS will now support SICK’s M12 and M18 inductive proximity sensors, IO-Link sensors, and light curtains.
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/
Ewellix has launched an online Linear Guide Calculator (LGC).This will help designers select the right linear guide for each application requirement and features adjustable filters such as ‘lifetime’ and ‘static safety’, all in a clear and simple interface for maximum usability.
www.ewellix.com
Thomson Industries, Inc., has launched an online selector tool that streamlines precision ball screw purchasing. The tool helps design engineers zero in on the right part quickly, access a 3D model with just a click, view pricing and lead times, etc.
www.thomsonlinear.com
/ DESIGNSOLUTIONS
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