Article Posted on : - Oct 20, 2010

An artistic concept of TechDemoSat-1 satellite.

GUILDFORD, UK (BNS): Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) has received a $1.2 million fund from UK Technology Strategy Board and the South East England Development Agency to begin the design phase of a national technology demonstration satellite, TechDemoSat-1.

Following the design phase, a further grant of $4.3 million will be released, and the TechDemoSat-1 programme will transition into the build and test phase.

"TechDemoSat-1 is part of our response to the Space Innovation and Growth Strategy. By allowing new technologies to get into space more quickly, TechDemoSat-1 will give UK space businesses a competitive edge and help the sector maintain its impressive growth which has continued unabated through the current economic downturn,” David Parker of the UK Space Agency said.

The satellite will be the first collaborative UK satellite launched since the establishment of the UK Space Agency and will demonstrate the advanced capabilities of state-of-the-art small satellite technology for scientific and commercial applications.

TechDemoSat-1 will carry payloads for various applications. SSTL will be launching a device for small satellite-based missions for applications such as monitoring the maritime environment and shipping, man's impact on the planet and providing in-situ measurements of a wide range of space radiation from low energy plasmas to high energy cosmic ray particles.