Oxfordshire central to UK's Constellation bid

Published by

Tom Kilkelly

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The UK is aiming to join Portugal and Spain as a member of the Atlantic Constellation as part of a bid to further strengthen the UK’s national capabilities in Earth observation technology.

£3 million will be provided from the UK Space Agency to support the build of the new pathfinder satellite, intended to be one of the first in the Constellation, with co-funding from Oxfordshire-based Open Cosmos.

The satellite built in the UK will be of the same design and launched in the same orbital plane as three others from Portugal.

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The Atlantic Constellation is a global project for the development of a constellation of small satellites for Ocean, Earth and Climate monitoring.

Open Cosmos is a growing company that has recently added a further 2 satellite missions to its OpenConstellation, successfully launched on 11 November and recently raised $50 million in Series B funding from leading impact investors.

This announcement comes as the UK Space Conference is set to open in Belfast, with the theme of 'Space for Our Future'.

£4 million worth of projects will be unveiled at the conference, all of which are part of the UK Space Agency's Enabling Technologies Programme.

Dr Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, said: ''Space science and technology has never been more important to life on Earth.

''The Enabling Technologies Programme demonstrates how our work at the UK Space Agency is empowering scientists and engineers in universities, companies and research institutes to develop new capabilities and advance the technologies of tomorrow.

''From the use of space data for weather predication and flood monitoring, to new methods of propulsion and in-orbit servicing, these new projects are great examples of how we can harness the power of space to protect our planet and people.''

Tom Kilkelly

Tom Kilkelly started working as a freelance journalist for The Business Magazine following his graduation from UCL in 2022. During his studies Tom became very interested in the works of Irish authors including Samuel Beckett and Flann O'Brien (Brian O'Nolan). His current role as a freelance business reporter is his first exposure to the world of business journalism. Working at TBM has given Tom the chance to really get to grips with the goings-on in the business hive that is the South East.