Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts has announced a £6 million co-funded grant for commercial products and services developments from space-based systems and technology. SSTL is leading one of four projects that will benefit, as part of the National Space Technology Programme (NSTP), delivered through the UK Space Agency and the Technology Strategy Board (TSB).

The funding was announced as a trade delegation including the Prime Minister, Minster Willetts, and SSTL Executive Chairman Sir Martin Sweeting, visit Japan. Among the key themes of the trip is increased space research collaboration between the two nations.

SSTL has previously collaborated with Japan through their Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC): In conjunction with the UK Space Agency, provided vital data for rescuers and assessors following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. SSTL’s remote sensing subsidiary DMC International Imaging (DMCii) has a track record for international collaboration through ten years supporting disaster relief efforts – from Hurricane Katrina to the Asian Tsunami.

Minister Willetts has signed an agreement with Japan's economic minister, Motohisa Furukawa on space industry collaboration and commerce. Speaking in Japan, the Minister praised the UK space industry – worth £7.5 billion annually – but stressed that international links are key to its continued success:

UK success depends on partners like the Japanese. Today's agreement will aid future space commerce and fuel growth for the UK’s innovative companies through our leading researchers’ work.

The minister added that the funding given to SSTL is intended to help develop commercial, cutting-edge space technology, with global market appeal. SSTL’s funding share will assist with the UK’s planned NovaSAR mission, by accelerating the development of an innovative s-band Synthetic Aperture Radar instrument that offers SAR imagery at a fraction of the cost of existing satellites.

This exciting new technology will deliver cloud-penetrating imagery day and night for applications such as forestry, maritime surveillance and global disaster relief operations. At a time when the world’s most established space agencies, including NASA, are facing budget cuts and with the CSA Radarsat Constellation Mission cuts also topical this week, NovaSAR is just one example of British innovation that offers more bang-for-buck to the international market.

This year, SSTL is once again supporting the Engineering Education Scheme (EES), by sponsoring a team of budding space engineers from the nearby Royal Grammar School (RGS), Guildford.

The EES is operated by the Education Development Trust’s (EDT), which is the largest provider of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) engagement and development schemes for British school-goers. SSTL believes that such programmes are invaluable, in helping to counteract the 40% decline in the up-take of careers in engineering and related disciplines in the UK in recent years, and in the nurture of future space engineers.



The trust’s schemes provide opportunities for 11-21 year olds to develop research projects in partnership with science, engineering, or technology companies in their regions. Since the autumn, a team of four young researchers from the RGS have been working under mentor, Sahand Ghanoun, from SSTL’s Flight Software team. After several months of hard work, the students are entering the study’s final stage, and will present their research findings later this month.

Their project centres on the development of a low-cost propulsion system, utilising the Crookes Radiometer effect, as a supplementary source of propulsion for crafts such as NASA’s bubble-like Tumbleweed Rover, on Martian exploration missions.



Sahand has been encouraged by the student’s enthusiasm for space-focused science, and sees much potential for the application of their research: ‘These students embody the capacity for Britain to develop as a contender in the space-applications market. This project is proof of that point: non-solar, light manipulating kinetics have immense propulsion and transportation potential; and for these self-starting British students to help advance it is very exciting’.

For months now, the student team have been hypothetically exploring the unchartered plains of Mars, as they considered the development of their design for a Crookes propulsion vane. In January, with SSTL’s help, they created a vacuum to replicate the Martian environment in a facility at the University of Surrey. This allowed them to trial several different designs for their vane, and as Sahand indicated, ‘propel’ the relevance of their research to another level.

With an estimated 89% of the students who participate in an EES scheme going on to study a science, engineering or technology at University, SSTL believes that its involvement amounts to an investment in the future health of the space industry. We will post the results of the team’s study on Space Blog in the near future. To find out about the EES scheme go to: www.etrust.org.uk

The highly advanced Earth Observation satellite, NigeriaSat-2, has captured stunning imagery from around the world.

NigeriaSat-2 is Nigeria’s third satellite in orbit and was launched alongside NigeriaSat-X, the satellite built by Nigerian engineers under SSTL supervision in Surrey to continue the service provided by the NigeriaSat-1 mission.

It is the first satellite to be based on the SSTL-300 platform and is very flexible due to its multi-mode imaging capability. NigeriaSat-2 is highly advanced for its size, acquiring 2.5m pan-chromatic and 5m multi-spectral data with special modes such as stereoscopic imagery.

The 2.5m high-resolution imagery is ideal for detecting damage to infrastructure and for urban planning. The data’s level of detail can be seen in the following image of Dubai airport where the individual planes are clearly discernable when image is enlarged (all of the images in this post can be enlarged by clicking on them).

NigeriaSat-2’s 5m offers a rich new data source for applications such as deforestation monitoring and vegetation classification. This image of Lake Thunderbird in Oklahoma, known locally as “Lake Dirtybird” due to the colour of the water shows the 4 band imagery to full effect.


Whereas previous small Earth Observation satellites would normally point straight at the Earth or “Nadir pointing” in space speak, NigeriaSat-2 is more versatile and agile. It takes images from 2 different angles to build up a stereoscopic 3D representation. This panchromatic image shows the Dubai skyline including the Burj Khalifa, which is currently the world's tallest building.


To see more remarkable images from NigeriaSat-2, visit SSTL’s online gallery.

Yesterday Baroness Wilcox visited SSTL to see with her own eyes how SSTL is contributing to the future of Britain’s high-tech economy. The visit was part of a tour of innovative businesses in Surrey organised by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.

During her visit the minister was given a tour of the new Kepler building and took a particular interest in images arriving from NigeriaSat-2, especially the stunning 3D image of the Dubai skyline.

Baroness Wilcox also met with six engineers on SSTL’s graduate employment programme. This scheme allows graduates to gain experience in most, if not all, of the main engineering disciplines within the Space industry including:

· Mission and System level Engineering
· Mechanical Engineering Design
· Electronics Engineering Design
· Manufacturing, Assembly, Integration and Test
· Spacecraft Operations
· Project Management
· Commercial aspects including Business Development, Sales and Finance

Every year the scheme is open to graduates from the Astronautics, Physics, Space Science and Engineering fields.



The visit aptly coincides with the BIS-funded National Science and Engineering Week, which recognises the need for science and engineering in economic growth and encourages these industries as future career paths for young people. This year the theme is ‘Our World in Motion’- something highly relevant for a satellite company!

SSTL is proud of its innovation heritage and is committed to passing this on to the next generation of engineers. As well as the graduate employment programme, SSTL and its staff run a broad range of outreach programmes and get involved with many local schools. One example is the Engineering Education Scheme (EES), run by The Engineering Development Trust which links teams of Year 12 pupils with local companies to provide students with first-hand experience in science, engineering and technology that will enable them to make informed decisions about their future.

The student team that SSTL is leading and sponsoring this year are looking into using the Crookes Radiometer Effect as a supplementary source of propulsion for the NASA Tumbleweed Rover. Tune in next week for more updates on this exciting EES project.