Space blog - Space

Students Battle for Space Supremacy

nospam@example.com (Robin Wolstenholme) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:36:05 +0100

Students from all over Britain have taken part in the BNSC’s “Space Experiment Competition”, the brainchild of SSTL’s very own Dr. Stuart Eves. From a sea of hopeful entrants, the judges have now whittled down the contestants to 6 finalists. The remaining students are from St George’s College Addlestone, Helston Community College, Langton Star Centre, Schome Park Project, Shrewsbury School and UKHAS.

The ambitious experiments will study a variety of space exploration issues, ranging from how to stop Near-Earth space dust damaging space craft to minimising the affect of electrically charged particles on space communication. In the race to outdo each other the students have come up with some really innovative ideas, including proposing ways to measure the resistance of bacteria in space and even measuring the number of meteors entering the atmosphere. So if you’re a budding physicist or engineer or are just interested in space, get yourself to the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) congress in Glasgow where the winning proposal will be announced in October 2008.

DMC hands disaster charter leadership to Canada

nospam@example.com (Robin Wolstenholme) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:37:16 +0100

DMC hands leadership of International Charter: "Space & Major Disasters" to Canadian Space Agency (16th April 2008, Montreal, CANADA)

At the 19th board meeting of the International Charter Space and Major Disasters in Montreal the DMC will hand the leadership of the Charter to the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). During the DMC's 6 month period as lead agency (primus inter pares) from October 2007 to April 2008 the Charter has responded to 18 disasters and finalised the integration of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) as a new Charter member.

The DMC is been represented on the Board of the Charter by the British National Space Centre (BNSC) and within the executive secretariat by DMCii. Leadership of the International Charter Board and secretariat rotates among the member agencies every six months.

EADS Astrium agrees to acquire SSTL

nospam@example.com (Robin Wolstenholme) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:42:48 +0100

Hot off the press. The deal promises more investment and the financial backing of the larger parent company, whilst preserving SSTL's unique market position and vision in changing the economics of space.

EADS Astrium, Europe’s leading space company, has entered into an agreement to acquire the innovative University of Surrey spin-out company Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), which specialises in the design and manufacture of small and micro satellites. This landmark deal provides the financial and industrial resources required for SSTL’s expansion and future development. Completion of the acquisition is subject to obtaining the relevant regulatory approval.

“In the UK we are renowned for our design and manufacture of telecommunications satellites, interplanetary spacecraft and satellite services provision. SSTL is one of the great success stories of the UK space industry and will be a substantial complement to what we can offer customers around the world with its expertise in small and micro satellites and their innovative approach to developing new markets for space,”.

Colin Paynter, CEO of Astrium in the UK.

Professor Sir Martin Sweeting, Executive Chairman of SSTL, has been an active ambassador for the UK space industry for many years and considers the acquisition as essential:

“SSTL operates in a highly competitive global market. If we are to continue changing the economics of space and provide the innovative solutions our customers demand we must expand and maintain our R&D investment. This acquisition strengthens SSTL enormously whilst preserving our unique approach to space.”

You can tune in to a podcast with Sir Martin to hear his personal thoughts on the deal by clicking here.

Professor Christopher Snowden, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Surrey commented:

“This is a great move for both the University and SSTL. On completion, this will represent one of the largest cash spin-outs from any UK university. It will also allow the Company to realise its full potential as a rapidly growing and leading supplier of small and micro satellites, whilst the University retains the benefit of close interaction with SSTL and its new partner EADS Astrium. By retaining a small stake in SSTL the University shows its commitment to both the future of the Company and space research itself.”

SSTL is joining EADS Astrium following a decision by the University of Surrey to sell its majority stake of circa 80% in the small satellite manufacturer. SSTL will remain an independent UK company with its individual brand and unique approach to space following the agreement, whilst benefiting from access to the resources of a large corporation including design, manufacturing and test facilities. Astrium will benefit from enhanced links with the University of Surrey to support staff training and development, also leading to greater cooperation and increased research on space technology and systems.

Astrium is one of the world’s leaders for its expertise in space transportation, spacecraft and satellite services including prime contractor for Ariane 5, the Columbus space laboratory and the Automated Transfer Vehicle for the International Space Station, and its leading-edge large and complex geostationary telecommunications satellites, and the Skynet 5 secure communications system for the UK Ministry of Defence. SSTL will complement Astrium’s existing space capabilities that include space transportation, satellites and services.

Under the share purchase agreement, SSTL will be owned by EADS Astrium NV in the Netherlands. Completion of the transaction remains subject to approval by the relevant merger control authorities.

The agreement sees long-term research collaboration between the University of Surrey and EADS Astrium and will further advance the University’s cutting edge space research capacity. The collaboration will also allow Astrium to benefit from staff training and development opportunities afforded by the links with the University. The sale will support the already-strong presence that Guildford and the south-east have in the aeronautical and space industries, creating a centre of expertise for space technology. This will allow for the region to benefit from the Government’s commitment to invest in the UK space industry.

Ecuador volcano eruption caught by DMC satellite NigeriaSat-1

nospam@example.com (Robin Wolstenholme) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:31:48 +0000

DMC International Imaging was on regular 24/7 duty as the Emergency On-Call Officer (ECO) for the International Charter; Space & Major Disasters from 21st to 28th January 2008. Gary Crowley, DMCii Operations Manager, coordinated the scheduling of images from DMC satellites as well as Envisat, Radarsat, ALOS, SPOT-5, IRS (Pan & LISS-3), Ikonos and QuickBird, for the Charter response to two disaster activation calls.

DMC image of the erupting Tungurahua volcano, Ecuador, showing the long plume of ash blackening the area (vegetation is false red) Image; NigeriaSat-1 25th Jan 2008 © NASRDA

Last Tuesday (22nd January) DMCii monitored a volcanic eruption in Ecuador. The images below are by kind permission of NASRDA.

Zoom of the volcano crater belching ash. Image; Nigeriasat-1 © NASRDA 2008

Just last Friday (25th January) the International Charter was activated to image flooding in Bolivia.

Second Galileo satellite on track

nospam@example.com (Robin Wolstenholme) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:00:19 +0000

SSTL’s second Galileo contract, GIOVE-A2, has progressed through a successful Critical Design Review (CDR). The small satellite is a follow-on mission to the successful GIOVE-A mission launched two years ago.

The two-day CDR meeting, attended by ESA representatives at SSTL’s headquarters in Guildford, reviewed the design changes between GIOVE-A and GIOVE-A2. The next stage in the project will progress towards manufacture.

ESA awarded the follow-on contract to SSTL in March 2007. The project covers initial activities leading to the construction of a further spacecraft for the Galileo satellite navigation system, based on SSTL’s proven GIOVE-A technology.

SSTL on Sky at Night this Sunday

nospam@example.com (Robin Wolstenholme) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:31:40 +0000

Back in August, the Sky at Night invited Martin Sweeting down to Patrick Moore's home in Sussex to film an interview for a programme celebrating 50 years of space. This program will also include a discussion of SSTL's lunar studies with Andy Phipps.

The Sky at Night
Dr Chris Lintott finds out how British technology is leading the way in satellite science, while Sir Patrick Moore investigates the threat from space debris that astronauts face in space.

For anyone that would like to tune in, the Sky at Night will be broadcast this Sunday evening, 2nd December, on BBC 4 at 20:30.

ALSAT-1 maps forest fires

nospam@example.com (Robin Wolstenholme) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:25:40 +0000

Algeria is celebrating the 5th birthday of its first satellite, ALSAT-1 this week.

Last summer, a heatwave struck Algeria bringing with it temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsuis. This dryed out the North African landscape, leading to forest fires in several forests.

The Batna region, which has some of the most densely forested regions in Algeria, was one of the worst affected areas. In particular, places like Djebel Belezma and Beni Fedhla were stricken by severe conflagrations accented by sirocco winds blowing at more than 80 kph.

Fire damage in the Bliza area

The fire has destroyed a significant part of the forests in the Batna region. For example, only this summer, fires have destroyed over 8000 hectares in Djebel Kimmel and in the area of Arris.

Forest fires: astronomical figures

Algeria used the SSTL-built ALSAT-1 satellite in a study to monitor forest fires and evaluate the damage caused and assess the forests’ ability to regenerate.

Fire damage surrounding Tipaza

The location referenced (geospatial) images from Algeria’s own satellite were supplemented where required with additional Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) data where required.

How satellite imaging is applied
The images were acquired from areas of interest are first pre-processed using the ENVI image processing software, these are then analysed and finely processed for later use. This results in cartographical (maps) that are easy to read with the human eye. The maps are then used to identify the various forest formations and the impact that this summer’s (2007) fires have had on them.
Both supervised classification and the vegetation index (NDVI) methods were used to determine the different forest formations and to deduct the fire impact on them. This methodology has allowed the Centre National des Techniques Spatiales (CNTS) to accurately assess the destruction of forest fires in the north of Algeria during this year’s (2007) campaign.

Satellites for breakfast anyone?

nospam@example.com (Robin Wolstenholme) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:52:30 +0000

In a recent breakfast meeting, held at the University Of Surrey, SSTL Principal Engineer Dr Stuart Eves spoke to students about SSTL. The Company was formed in 1985 by the University of Surrey and was the first professional organisation to offer low-cost small satellites. SSTL has come along way since its University days and now employs more than 260 people at their purpose built offices on the Surrey Research Park, but the spirit of innovation and the will to challenge perceptions remains to this day.

Far out: MoonRaker

60 attended the talk “the PC computers of space”, which provided an introduction to small satellites and highlights of missions that have been launched to date, including updates on the status of the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) and the GIOVE-A navigation satellite mission. The future applications of small satellites, including potential science, communications, and Earth observation missions were also discussed.

Stuart Eves is a Principal Engineer at Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) in Guildford. He spent 16 years with the UK Ministry of Defence where he initiated the TopSat satellite programme which is now on-orbit conducting its Earth-observation mission. He joined SSTL in 2004 and has an MSc in Astrophysics, a PhD in constellation design, and has been a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society for more than 15 years.

An, you can read his "Is Pluto really a planet" Space Blog here and school students will be interested to hear that Dr. Eves is responsible for a competition that will give the winner the chance to fly their experiment on an SSTL spacecraft! Keep your eye on Space Blog, or "subscribe" by RSS using the buttons on the top left for more information!

Satellites help save lives

nospam@example.com (Robin Wolstenholme) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 09:47:10 +0100

The UK is taking charge of an international group providing satellite data to support disaster relief across the world. The British National Space Centre and DMC International Imaging Ltd (DMCii) will lead the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters” from October 2007 until April 2008.

The Charter was set up in 2000 to provide satellite data and imagery to help governments and aid agencies plan emergency relief following major disasters. It has provided valuable information to relief agencies after earthquakes, floods, landslides and volcanic eruptions.

Dave Hodgson

When the Charter is activated, Earth observation satellites operated by 14 international organisations are made freely available. The satellites provide data which is then used to produce maps and other information for emergency response efforts.

The UK-built Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) is a key member of the Charter. The five satellites were built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd and are owned individually by Algeria, China, Nigeria, Turkey and the UK.

DMCii will chair the Charter Secretariat. DMCii Managing Director David Hodgson said: “Imagery from the DMC has been provided for more than 50 disasters and is particularly valuable in monitoring fires and floods.

“DMCii is also proud to provide regular emergency on-call services to the Charter and to task the world’s Earth observing satellites in response to disasters.”

Minister for Science and Innovation Ian Pearson said: “The UK is proud to lead this important group. We often think of space as being somewhere to explore, but it can also bring enormous benefits to us here on Earth."

Disaster Monitoring is one of the more direct forms of benefit from space, making it easier for the public to comprehend. The Charter is frequently called into action, or in Charter terms "activated". Charter members have been called on 34 times so far this year including on 14 September after floods devastated 12 countries in West Africa. The Charter was also activated in the aftermath of Hurricane Felix which hit Nicaragua and Honduras on 4 September 2007. The UK has activated the Charter twice this summer following the floods in north and south west England. Satellite data and images were used to produce maps of the flooded areas to help the Environment Agency assess the full extent of the damage.

Media invited to University Elon Musk talk

nospam@example.com (Robin Wolstenholme) — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 10:34:53 +0100

To celebrate the centenary year of the Department of Electronic Engineering at the University of Surrey from its origin in Battersea Polytechnic to the present day, members of the media are cordially invited to attend an evening with Elon Musk on Friday 5 October. The evening, which will commence at 5pm with a drinks reception followed by talks and a fork buffet, is preceded by a daytime robotic challenge event for teams from local schools.

Elon Musk will be talking about his enterprises into the space industry. He is CEO and CTO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), which he founded in 2002, who have a 10% stake in SSTL. SpaceX develops launch vehicles and spacecraft for missions to Earth orbit and beyond. Last year, SpaceX won the NASA competition to design, build and demonstrate operation of a commercial replacement for the Space Shuttle, which retires in 2010.

Prior to SpaceX, Mr. Musk co-founded PayPal, the world's leading Internet payment system, and served as the company's chairman and CEO. PayPal currently has over one hundred million customers in 190 countries, processes tens of billion dollars per year and went public on NASDAQ in early 2002. Mr. Musk was the largest shareholder of PayPal until the company was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in mid 2002.

Elon’s presentation will be preceded by a daytime robotic challenge in which teams of ten pupils from nine local Surrey and Hampshire schools will compete to build a lunar rover robot. The robots will then compete in a number of tasks mimicking the tasks a real lunar rover would be expected to perform. Each school will be able to keep its robot and the school of the team with the winning robot will win £1,000.

For more infomation contact Peter La, Press Office at the University of Surrey, Tel: 01483 689191.

Competition to curb Galileo costs and timescales

nospam@example.com (Robin Wolstenholme) — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:28:03 +0100

SSTL’s Group Executive Chairman, Sir Martin Sweeting stated in a press release today that he believes the increased competition resulting from the June proposal by the European Commission to fund the Galileo satellite navigation system through the public sector will reduce the cost and risk involved.

"The increased competition will have significant benefits"

”The increased competition will have significant benefits,” stated SSTL’s Group Executive Chairman, Sir Martin Sweeting. “The public sector will soon be in a position to place contracts that give the European taxpayer better value for money and step up the pace of delivering the system”.

SSTL aims to support the European Commission and European Space Agency (ESA) by building on its experience gained through the successful GIOVE-A mission, to provide best value in the operational phase of Galileo. GIOVE-A was developed under a €28M contract signed with ESA in the second half of 2003. The mission’s primary aim was to broadcast Galileo signals from space so that Europe could claim the frequencies filed for Galileo with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The satellite was designed, built, tested and launched before the end of 2005 – on-time and on-budget. GIOVE-A has transmitted Galileo signals for over 18 months and remains the only Galileo spacecraft in operation. Following the success of GIOVE-A, ESA placed a further contract with SSTL in March 2007 for a second satellite named GIOVE-A2.

Sir Martin added:

“It’s clear that a second source of operational satellites is needed, both to provide healthy competition and to reduce risk to the schedule of the Galileo system. SSTL has begun discussions with other key European suppliers, with the aim of forming a team capable of supplying a significant portion of Galileo whilst maintaining the winning formula employed on GIOVE-A. We expect these discussions to be finalised in October, in time to provide the public sector with a much needed competitive option”.

Galileo is a joint initiative between ESA and the European Commission. When fully deployed in the early years of the next decade, it will be the first non-military positioning system to offer global coverage.

Learn about business in the space industry

nospam@example.com (Robin Wolstenholme) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:09:27 +0100

SSTL's Sir Martin Sweeting is giving a talk to the West Surrey Branch of the Institute of Directors (IOD) next Thursday evening, 20th September at the Continuing Education Centre in Guildford. These lectures are open to all IOD members and their guests. An invitation is also extended to the MBA students at the University of Surrey. The programme summarises as follows:

"SSTL is a company that is a disruptive force in the satellite industry and which is 'changing the economics of space'. Leveraging terrestrial commercial-off-the-shelf technologies developed for laptop computers, digital cameras, computer games and mobile phones, SSTL is able to offer rapid-response, low cost yet highly sophisticated microsatellites that have opened up new aspects of space business. Spun out from the University of Surrey in 1985, SSTL continues to work closely with the academic space research centre demonstrating the effectiveness of real commercial and academic synergy. Nevertheless, the company has changed dramatically as it has evolved from 4 staff in 1985 through to 250 staff in 2007 with revenues of £30m. Such organic growth has presented many challenges - and no doubt more are to come."

Sputnik celebrations at BA Festival of Science

nospam@example.com (Robin Wolstenholme) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 12:29:42 +0100

This September the 2007, the BA's (British Association for the Advancement of Science) Festival of Science will be visiting the University of York. There will be an explosion of science as exciting events take over the University campus, the city and surrounding areas. SSTL's Sir Martin Sweeting will speak at the festival as part of the ongoing celebrations surrounding the 50th anniversary of Sputnik.

50 years ago, the launch of Sputnik ushered in the space age. Since then, probes have been sent all round the solar system and man has walked on the moon. There are many satellites orbiting the Earth, looking outwards, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, and inwards, allowing global communication, mapping and monitoring. Come along to hear tales of all aspects of human involvement in space. The event begins with a Q&A session with young space scientists who will each say a few words on what it is like to work "in space" followed by the opportunity for questions

If you are in the area, why not join in? Sir Martin's presentation is just one of the exciting a varied line up discussing space and space research. He will discuss Satellites in the service of humanity

Martin Sweeting founded and runs one of the UK's most successful satellite manufacturers. He will describe the various uses that satellites can be put to in order to serve humans on Earth, including disaster monitoring and mitigation, navigation and weather forecasting.

Visit the festival website for more details.

SSTL to develop low cost Moon satellite for NASA

nospam@example.com (Robin Wolstenholme) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:55:15 +0100

Last Monday at the 21st AIAA / USU Conference on Small Satellites , SSTL announced that they have been awarded a contract for the study phase of a potential joint US-UK lunar orbiter mission to be called Magnolia.

This first phase of the contract will run for 9-months, resulting in a preliminary design. The contract also includes a package of training from SSTL and the University of Surrey, that will share the know-how accrued by SSTL over the last 25 years with Mississippi State University (MSU) and NASA Stennis Space Center to lower the cost of future missions to the Moon.

MSU’s David Shaw stated:

“MSU is committed to developing a small satellite capability in Mississippi and believes that SSTL is the best partner with whom to achieve that aim”. SSTL’s founder and Group Executive Chairman, Sir Martin Sweeting, added: “We are delighted to be working with our US partners on this programme and look forward to the exciting possibility of a joint US-UK lunar mission. SSTL is committed to driving down the cost of space missions in Earth orbit and beyond.”

A proposed Magnolia design

This isn't the first time SSTL have worked on lunar missions. Last year, SSTL performed a lunar exploration design study for the UK government’s Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (now subsumed into the newly created Science & Technology Facilities Council). The study was supported by a group of UK scientists and showed the feasibility of a pair of low cost missions known as MoonLITE and MoonRaker.

In the past, SSTL has developed equipment for interplanetary missions such as the Rosetta comet chaser and recently delivered a payload processor for a US radar to fly onboard the 2008 Indian lunar mission, Chandrayaan-1. Looking further into space, SSTL has performed a European Space Agency feasibility study for a low cost mission to Venus and has studied potential missions to near-Earth asteroids and Earth re-entry for the future return of samples from Mars. Magnolia marks SSTL’s next step beyond low Earth Orbit.

The contract follows a UK-US cooperation agreement on lunar exploration activities. The next phase of the Magnolia mission is planned to start in 2008 and could lead to the launch of the mission in 2010.

Sir Martin discusses lunar exploration on Radio 4

nospam@example.com (Robin Wolstenholme) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 10:41:19 +0100

Prof Sir Martin Sweeting is in the news again this week, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Fly me to the Moon programme last night.

SSTL's Group Executive Chairman, Prof Sir Martin Sweeting, discusses his company's plans to take their world leading small satellite products to the Moon. The programme features former astronaut, Jeff Hoffman, who looks at the new space race as four different nations prepare for lunar reconnaisance missions next year. 'The Main Players' is the first of two programmes.

Listen now