The satellites, developed by Spire Global and AAC Clyde Space\u00a0in Glasgow,\u00a0are backed by\u00a0UK Space Agency funding delivered through the European Space Agency\u2019s Pioneer Programme, which\u00a0helps\u00a0emerging\u00a0UK space companies become new mission providers.\u00a0The Pioneer Programme falls within the programme of Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES).\u00a0<\/p>\n
The government has\u00a0identified\u00a0satellite communications as\u00a0a priority area\u00a0for further support, due to\u00a0its\u00a0increasingly\u00a0important role\u00a0in\u00a0both civil and defence applications,\u00a0from\u00a0delivering\u00a0broadband services\u00a0to\u00a0remote areas\u00a0to\u00a0providing secure\u00a0connectivity\u00a0for\u00a0military operations.\u00a0As part of this commitment, the\u00a0UK Space Agency will\u00a0invest more than \u00a3600 million in\u00a0satellite communications\u00a0research & development\u00a0over the coming years.<\/p>\n
Optical inter-satellite links tested by Spire Global UK<\/p>\n
One\u00a0of the satellites was\u00a0launched by Spire Global UK to test an innovative optical inter-satellite link (ISL) payload. Designed to\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0high-speed laser crosslinks on a compact 6U platform, the mission aims to significantly reduce data latency for aviation, maritime, weather and space-weather services. The technology, once\u00a0validated, will support near-real-time global data delivery across nanosatellite constellations.<\/p>\n
AAC Clyde Space\u00a0demonstrates\u00a0UK\u2019s high-volume production capability<\/p>\n
As part of the\u00a0xSPANCION\u00a0project, two satellites were developed by AAC Clyde Space, in collaboration with several UK partners, including Bright Ascension Ltd., the University of Strathclyde, the Satellite Applications Catapult, Alden Legal and D-Orbit UK. These satellites\u00a0represent\u00a0the first in-orbit demonstration of the UK\u2019s emerging high-volume, low-cost satellite production and operations capability.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The satellites will form part of VIREON\u2122, AAC Clyde Space\u2019s new constellation designed to enhance decision-making across agriculture,\u00a0forestry\u00a0and environmental management, delivering space-enabled insights to governments,\u00a0industry\u00a0and environmental organisations.<\/p>\n
Supporting\u00a0growth and innovation\u00a0in Scotland and across the UK<\/p>\n
Together, the missions strengthen British capability across optical ISL technologies, volume manufacturing, advanced operations\u00a0platforms\u00a0and high-skilled jobs across the UK supply chain. They also demonstrate Glasgow\u2019s position as the leading city for small satellite manufacturing in Europe.<\/p>\n
Henny Sands, Head of Telecommunications at the UK Space Agency, said:<\/p>\n
\nThis Transporter-16 launch marks\u00a0an important step\u00a0forward for the UK\u2019s ambitions in next-generation satellite communications. By supporting both breakthrough optical technologies and high-volume production methods, we are enabling British companies to lead in the markets that will define the future of global connectivity.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Companies can also apply\u00a0to an open\u00a0funding call from\u00a0the UK Space Agency\u2019s Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit (C-LEO) programme,\u00a0with \u00a330 million currently available\u00a0to support the development of new components and technologies for\u00a0satellite constellations, with a further funding call due\u00a0to open later this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The satellites, developed by Spire Global and AAC Clyde Space\u00a0in Glasgow,\u00a0are backed by\u00a0UK Space Agency funding delivered through…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3844],"tags":[70,413,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-860741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-space","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116319109577123979","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}