Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

UK Announces New Fund for International Space Collaborations


Tue 06 Oct 2020 | 11:19 AM
NaDa Mustafa

The UK has announced the launching of the “National Space Innovation Programme”, a new domestic space fund worth £5 million.

The UK Space Agency will use the fund to finance innovative technologies and services in support of UK trade, science and security collaborating with major space players like Australia, France, Japan and the United States.

Funding ranges from £250,000 to £2.5 million and will go to the best international collaborative projects initiated by players in the UK industry, academia and research organisations.

Such projects range from tackling space debris with new monitoring technologies, to using Earth Observation satellites to track issues like climate change, and utilising space science and satellite applications to provide expert disaster relief assistance.

UK Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: “The UK’s space sector is playing a critical role in tackling some of the world’s greatest challenges - from monitoring climate change to providing vital relief for countries affected by natural disasters.”

 

This funding builds on the UK Space Agency’s existing work on the world stage. In June, the UK and US governments signed an agreement which paves the way for US companies to operate from UK spaceports and export space launch technology, as the UK aims for the first launches from the early 2020s.

Alice Bunn, International Director at the UK Space Agency, said: “There are over 100 space-faring nations across the world now, many of which are looking to collaborate with the UK. This funding enables us to seize those opportunities and develop them, creating high-skilled jobs and boosting our economy.”

The UK Space Agency also runs its successful International Partnership Programme (IPP), a £30 million a year programme, which has grant-funded 43 projects in almost 50 developing countries across Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America and built new partnerships between 186 mainly UK-based organisations and 183 international organisations.