The UK Space Agency has announced funding for twenty-nine space technology projects.
The funding is part of the UK Space Agency’s National Space Technology Programme (NSTP).
The UK Space Agency was allocated £10m of government cash last year by George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to boost the space economy.
The government funding totals £2.5m and is being matched by the organisations benefitting from the grants, taking the value of the research and development for the chosen space projects to nearly £5 million.
The grants are being made to assist development of the projects into commercial products and services using space technology or space-derived data.
The UK's NSTP was established to help UK industry exploit growth opportunities in the space economy.
Dr David Williams, the Space Minister and Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, said:
“The UK space industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the country, contributing £7.5bn annually to the UK economy. The National Space Technology Programme will help us further this success by providing an opportunity for promising UK space technologies and applications to be developed to meet their full commercial potential and for businesses to explore collaborations with other sectors to establish services in new markets.”
The organisations that have received the funding are:
ABSL Power Solutions Ltd (2 projects), Advanced Composites Group Ltd, AMPAC ISP UK Westcott Ltd, Astrium Ltd (3 projects), CBIL, Clyde Space Ltd, e2v technologies (UK) Ltd, EADS-UK, Exemplar Associates Ltd, Logica (2 projects), M Squared Lasers, Magellium Ltd, Mars Space Ltd, National Physical Laboratory (2 projects), Nottingham Scientific Ltd, QinetiQ, Reaction Engines Ltd, SSBV Space and Ground Systems Ltd, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (2 projects), VEGA Space Ltd, VIPER RF Ltd (2 projects) and Zettlex UK Ltd.
The projects being supported include "Innovative "Green" Propulsion Systems", "Compact electronics for space deployable quantum cascade lasers", "Extension of pulsed plasma thrusters lifetime for cubesat application", "Space Based Interference Detection & Geolocation (IDG)", "Growth of NanoBlack for Space Sensing" and "Fundamental Analysis and Design Study of Integration of Precoolers into Advanced Air Breathing Propulsion Systems for Reusable Launch Vehicles".
A full list of the projects and companies can be viewed here.