SSTL to launch innovative new space-based radar remote sensing programme to the international market
| Guildford: Monday, 9th January 2012 Surrey Research Park tenant Company Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) is to benefit from an investment of £21m from the UK Government that will enable the British small satellite pioneer to launch an innovative and highly competitive new space-based radar remote sensing programme in the international market. The Rt. Honourable David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science, outlined how the investment will be used by SSTL to develop a powerful tool known as a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), which provides the ability to see through clouds and image Earth night or day when monitoring the Earth from space. Despite growing demand, the cost and complexity of radar satellites severely limit their use where it is urgently needed – such as maritime surveillance (anti-piracy, illegal fishing, drug trafficking, pollution), the oil and gas industry (pollution, ice hazards, arctic passages) and environmental and climate monitoring (deforestation, disaster monitoring, relief co-ordination). 'Satellites enable us to monitor and manage some of the most important issues affecting our planet. This exciting project will provide the UK with a world-leading constellation of its own and is a clear signal of the Government's continued commitment to the UK space industry,' said Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts. 'NovaSAR will keep us at the forefront of space technology, and will drive growth and innovation as governments and businesses across the globe develop scientific and commercial uses for the data.' Through an intensive development programme, the combined expertise of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) on advanced small satellite platforms and Astrium UK experience on radar payloads has created a new small radar satellite (NovaSAR) that offers powerful radar remote sensing capabilities for approximately 20% of the cost of conventional radar missions. The Government will provide the necessary seed funding alongside industry to develop and build the first NovaSAR demonstration satellite, enabling the UK to showcase the highly attractive technology to the global marketplace and initiate a constellation of NovaSAR satellites similar to the highly successful Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) of optical small satellites. The first NovaSAR demonstration satellite could be launched as early as 2013. 'This support by the Government is absolutely critical in bringing this world-beating technology to market,' added Sir Martin Sweeting, Executive Chairman SSTL. 'Experience with the Disaster Monitoring Constellation has shown that modest Government investment can catalyse an enormous multiplier for high value manufacturers such as SSTL, Astrium and the UK space industry to grow our exports and share in an international space market worth more than £178bn per year.' In addition to securing export orders for satellites in the constellation, the partnership expects a significant return on investment from sales of data from the constellation by downstream applications and services anchored in the UK. |