Pioneering Worldwide Space Partnerships to Boost UK Innovation

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The UK Space Agency announced the recipients to receive the first phase of its £20 million International Bilateral Fund investments, which will help UK organisations link up with the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, India, Singapore, South Africa and more to form collaborations that will progress space research and catalyse investment in new technologies.

The International Bilateral Fund is the Agency’s first fund dedicated to building and strengthening international relationships to help advance the UK’s goals in space.

While some projects will focus on enhancing those relationships to unlock future economic opportunities for the UK, others will focus directly on science missions and technologies with strong commercial potential. From using superconductors for spacecraft control to space traffic management and satellite launch vehicles, the portfolio of projects represents the full breadth of the sector.

Dr Paul Bate, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, said, “Working with other space agencies and organisations across the globe through our International Bilateral Fund allows us to draw on skills that enhance our homegrown expertise and capabilities, drive up investment in the UK, and support world-class science and discovery. Projects such as these highlight the many ways in which we can collaborate with the global space community to help humanity push the boundaries of space innovation and unlock commercial opportunities that will benefit our economy now and in the future.”

One project led by UK-based Vertical Future will partner with Axiom Space, Saber Astronautics, Cambridge University and the University of Adelaide to kick-start the development of a state-of-the-art autonomous controlled environment for plant growth to support space missions.

Meanwhile, satellite manufacturer In-Space Missions will work with a dedicated regional Asia-Pacific Government collaboration (incorporating Singapore, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia) to develop Faraday Dragon, a multi-agency accelerator programme that will ease the export of novel space technologies and access to space via rideshare missions.

These bilateral partnerships will not only strengthen UK space sector capabilities by drawing on expertise from around the world, but they will ensure the UK, and its world-leading scientists, remain a driving force behind generating a diverse and collaborative global space sector that benefits the world for generations to come.

Lizzie Kerr, Director of UKspace, said, “UKspace welcomes the announcement of the first projects funded under the UK Space Agency’s International Bilateral Fund. International collaboration underpins the success of the UK’s space sector – and this new programme is an important new route to unlock new international partnerships, benefitting companies overseas and here in the UK.”