Space
Airbus to develop technology for ultra-high-resolution satellites for UK MOD A
irbus has won a design study from the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) to develop the technologies for a cluster of ultra-high-resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites for the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD). The satellites will also have the ability to collect radio frequency (RF) signals.
Called “Oberon” the project will see Airbus develop the technologies that could lead to an in-orbit demonstration in 2022 and potentially an operational capability as early as 2025. The innovative techniques and technologies developed within the project will allow the ground to be seen in outstanding detail regardless of darkness, or of cloudy weather conditions. Colin Paynter, managing director of Airbus Defence and Space UK says: “Project Oberon builds on Airbus’ expertise in space radar technology developed over
40 years. I look forward to seeing this study leading to a new world-class surveillance capability for the UK MOD, helping to protect our armed forces across the world.”
Gary Aitkenhead, chief executive of Dstl, says: “This addition to our capability is a valuable part of the future of Defence Space. Partnership between Dstl and Airbus on this project secures UK jobs as well as continuing to exploit advances in the UK space sector.” Oberon follows the success of the SAR satellite, NovaSAR, designed and developed by Airbus and SSTL, which was launched in September 2018. Since NovaSAR was conceived, Dstl and Airbus have made significant leaps in technology, allowing the Oberon system to achieve high performance from a small and compact satellite system.
airbus.com
Cutting-edge UK led satellite will help to identify natural resources from space
T
he Mission and Agile Nanosatellite for Terrestrial Imagery Services (MANTIS) satellite, which received funding
today, will help energy and mining businesses identify new resources thanks to its high-resolution terrestrial camera and novel data analysis. Searching for natural resources is often an expensive and hazardous exercise, carried out in remote areas of the world. However, high resolution images of terrain taken by the MANTIS satellite and refined through novel data analysis will mean that prospectors can view Earth geology remotely, so reducing cost, removing risk and helping them to make better decisions. The demonstration project is co-funded by industry and the UK Space Agency through its investment in the European Space Agency’s (ESA) InCubed Programme, which aims to support innovative projects related to Earth Observation into the commercial market. Beth Greenaway, head of earth observation for the UK Space Agency says: “Observations of the Earth from space are central to modern day life in helping us to monitor climate change, map our environment, forecast the weather and now – finding new resources. “The UK is a world leader in earth observation technology, and we hope to
26 October 2019
time to orbit, complexity and cost of these systems.”
Investing in Industrial Innovation – InCubed – is a European Space Agency programme supporting innovative projects related to Earth Observation, with the focus of removing barriers to entry of the commercial marketplace. The UK, jointly with Spain, is a lead contributor to the programme, with the nations having contributed €10 million each to the total budget of €35 million. UK InCubed funding has been awarded through a process of competitive calls for proposals.
The MANTIS contract was signed this
maintain momentum at the forthcoming European Space Agency Council of Ministers in November, where we will be reaffirming our ESA membership.” The InCubed funding will help bring this
service from concept to a Minimum Viable Product stage, providing and demonstrating the first element of a potential satellite constellation, helping overcome the initial barrier to market and supporting the growth of the UK space sector. UK space business Open Cosmos will
provide the satellite platform and lead construction of the mission, Terrabotics will
Components in Electronics
provide the data analytics service and the high resolution camera will be procured from Satlantis in Spain. Rafel Jordá Siquier, founder and CEO of Open Cosmos says: ““Open Cosmos is very excited to work on this next generation Earth Observation satellite. This project shows that bringing together the best specialists in their fields, in this case Open Cosmos, Satlantis and Terrabotics, leads to great technical performance improvements of Earth Observation platforms, while at the same time significantly reducing
afternoon (11 September) at ESA’s ESRIN facility near Rome, Italy. The UK’s investments in ESA are
strengthening the UK’s national capability in space, which is fundamental to modern day life, from weather forecasting and satellite TV, to communications and monitoring climate change. The UK will make ambitious new subscriptions to ESA programmes in November, which will strengthen capabilities further and ensure the UK plays a significant role in global efforts to return humans to the Moon, bring back the first samples from Mars and develop innovative new technologies for life on Earth.
www.cieonline.co.uk
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