Oxbridge capability beamed aboard for UK SpaceTech innovation spree

Oxbridge brilliance is very much to the fore in the National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP), just unveiled in Glasgow. The programme is not a hopeful moonshot but a targeted investment geared to accelerate breakthrough technologies, boost commercialisation and reinforce a perceived UK global lead in space innovation.

The selected projects span five strategic themes critical to the UK’s ambitions: space domain awareness, in-orbit servicing and manufacturing, Earth observation, satellite communications and position, navigation and timing.

Together, projects are designed to deliver transformative technologies to enhance climate monitoring, improve connectivity, enable sustainable satellite operations, and strengthen national security. From quantum communications and robotic servicing tools to AI-powered pollution tracking and refuellable propulsion systems, these innovations will help build a resilient, competitive UK space sector, according to Space Minister Liz Lloyd.

She said: “Space technology benefits people’s lives every day - from checking the weather to navigating your car journey home from work. This funding backs the brilliant UK innovators developing the next generation of space technology.

“Innovations in Earth observation and satellite data will enhance services such as weather forecasting, agricultural monitoring, and disaster response.”

A galaxy of Oxbridge stars light up the firmament for the UK through this programme: Oxon enterprise HR Wallingford’s AI tool will use satellite data to assess how farming practices affect water quality in our rivers and bathing waters, supporting environmental protection and more sustainable land use.

Ditto, Magdrive Ltd in Oxfordshire is developing a compact, versatile and efficient metal-based plasma propulsion system, targeting mass production in the UK to support the next generation of satellite constellations. It receives £2m to ready a powerful propulsion system for small satellites for mass production.

BAE Systems Digital Intelligence, which has facilities the length and breadth of the UK, is developing a satellite-based service to detect and track radio signals from Earth, with applications in both civil and defence contexts. The programme is advancing the UK’s sustainability goals.

Oxfordshire business Protolaunch’s water-based propulsion system is in the mix while US headquartered and Harwell Campus-based Orbit Fab’s first step to developing a refuellable electric propulsion system will promote greener satellite operations.

B2Space Ltd partners SuperSharp Space Systems in Cambridge and University of South Wales in a £2m project to create a UK-led Earth observation system using high-altitude platforms with advanced sensors, satcom connectivity and onboard AI.

Lightricity Ltd in Oxford, with partners AVS Added Value Solutions UK Ltd in Aylesbury and IQE PLC in Milton Keynes, share £1.9m to create a fully flexible roll-out foldable solar panel for small satellites that can generate several kilowatts of power.

Toshiba Europe Ltd at Cambridge Science Park, together with Heriot-Watt University and Cambridge University has secured £1.4m to space-qualify critical quantum optoelectric components and integrate them into a UK-developed secure quantum communication systems for small satellites.

As previously reported, Filtronic Broadband Ltd – which has a design centre at Cambridge Science Park - receives £1.18 million to build a high-powered amplifier system for satellite communications using advanced UK technology.

Lodestar Space Ltd with partners Magdrive and Cranfield University in Bedfordshire, receive £1 million to develop autonomous, modular robotic tools to service spacecraft in orbit.

Oxfordshire-based Protolaunch Ltd with partners University of Southampton and Naicker Scientific Ltd earn £1 million to develop a water-based propulsion system that combines chemical and electric thrust for sustainable and dynamic satellite movement.

The University of Southampton has received £800k and partnered with Cranfield Plasma Solutions in Bedford to develop a plasma torch system for simulating the extreme thermal conditions of spacecraft atmospheric re-entry.

This innovation will fill a key UK capability gap by providing high-fidelity, contamination-free material ablation testing, supporting sustainable space operations.

University of Leicester, with partner TWI Ltd in Cambridge, receives £485k to build a robot-mounted welding system for in-space repair and structural joining, validated through vacuum and simulated-environment testing.

Orbit Fab Ltd in St Ives in Cambridgeshire, with partner TAS UK, receives £340,000 to create a refuellable electric propulsion system for satellites by developing a fluidic flatsat.

STFC RAL Space in Oxfordshire receives £260,000 to develop a new technology to support the calibration of next-generation meteorological satellites using UK-made electronics.