Dear Reader,
We’re kicking off 2026 with a packed start to the year for Space South Central, with fresh funding, talent initiatives, and new chances to connect across our ecosystem.
This month’s news highlights regional strengths in engineering, materials and science – from EECL’s £1.5 million ESA contract and Surrey NanoSystems’ ultra‑black coatings, to Stars Edge’s accessible satellites, royal recognition of Surrey’s space research, and breakthroughs in dark energy, stellar physics and Earth’s ancient climate. You’ll also hear from ESA Ambassador Grant Day, who shares an update on upcoming opportunities and priorities for our community. Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd’s contributions are also in the spotlight, with HydroGNSS progressing through commissioning and new Galileo satellites launched with SSTL payloads helping to power Europe’s flagship navigation system.
You’ll also find details of major Innovate UK and UKRI calls, including the Women in Innovation Awards 2025–26 and the latest Knowledge Transfer Partnership round, plus missions, skills initiatives and policy updates shaping growth across the sector. We’re excited to spotlight Orbit South Central, our February networking event at the University of Southampton’s Future Towns Innovation Hub, bringing together speakers from EarthSavvy, Green‑Co and Hnosi Space to explore space‑enabled solutions and new collaborations.
As always, you’ll find curated news, funding calls and events to help you stay ahead in a fast‑moving sector and make the most of support from the regional cluster.
For all the latest updates on our work and the Space South Central cluster, follow our social media accounts on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Ebony Desposito
Digital Marketing Officer
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EECL secures £1.5m contract with European Space Agency for payload qualification and test systems
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European Engineering Consultancy Ltd (EECL) has been awarded a £1.5 million contract by the European Space Agency (ESA) to deliver ground support equipment and environmental and space-qualification testing for a next-generation digital satellite payload.
Thanks to a strategic introduction by Space South Central, EECL will provide end-to-end qualification services, including thermal-vacuum cycling, vibration and mechanical testing, EMC assessment, and comprehensive payload validation. The company will also design and supply automated ground support equipment and test systems to streamline qualification and integration processes.
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Surrey Nanosystems: Engineering the darkness that enables the future of space
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Surrey NanoSystems has spent the past decade shaping the optical foundations of modern space systems. Best known for creating Vantablack, the world-famous ultra-black coating, the company has grown from a university spin-out into a trusted engineering partner for companies across Europe and the US. Its materials sit at the heart of sensitive optical payloads, star trackers and emerging laser communications systems, yet the business is far from relying on the reputation of its headline material. Today it is redefining how the sector approaches stray-light management, component design and the future of satellite surfaces.
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A Royal visit to spotlight Surrey's research and teaching strengths
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HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh and the University of Surrey’s Chancellor, HRH The Duke of Kent, visited Surrey to celebrate the University’s innovation, research and hands-on learning.
During their visit, they met students and staff from across campus, gaining insight into Surrey’s multidisciplinary approach to education.
At the Space Centre, The Duchess visited the satellite clean room, which was toured by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1998. In the clean room, Her Royal Highness helped to fit a panel engraved with Their Royal Highnesses’ Royal Cyphers to Jovian-1, a satellite which Surrey students helped develop.
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While others go high, Stars Edge is going lower for more accessible satellite technology
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Given the state of the world today, being able to monitor what’s happening across the planet is more important than ever.
Whether it’s geopolitical instability, environmental challenges, or a host of other use cases, a clear up-to-date understanding of the current situation is critical for governments and businesses that want to stay ahead.
Satellites can provide this data from across the globe, but cost way more than observation drones, spy planes, and other technology that operate closer to the ground.
Looking to fill the gap for lower-cost, simpler-to-deploy satellites is Stars Edge.
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Red tape to be slashed as MOD launches new team to back British small businesses
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A new team dedicated to supporting small British businesses to win more defence contracts has been established today by the Defence Readiness and Industry Minister, Luke Pollard MP, on a visit to the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland.
Known as the Defence Office for Small Business Growth (OfSBG), it will be made up of policy and commercial expert staff, who will support small and medium UK firms to bid for and win more defence contracts. The ambition is to reverse the decline in Ministry of Defence (MOD) spend on SMEs, as identified in the Defence Industrial Strategy.
This will also help deliver on the Government’s pledge to increase defence spending with SMEs by 50% by 2028 and is a significant vote of confidence in around 12,000 SMEs across the UK, marking an important step in removing barriers faced by SMEs at a crucial time for national security and innovation.
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SatVu brings national security veteran Scott Herman in as Chief Technology Officer
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SatVu, the UK-based high-resolution thermal intelligence company that reveals operational activity and infrastructure performance from space, today announced the appointment of Scott Herman as Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
Herman joins SatVu as the company scales delivery of thermal intelligence for National Security, Economic, and Environmental Monitoring missions.
Herman will lead SatVu’s technology and platform strategy, overseeing the evolution of its product development and analytics platform to support persistent, 24/7 day-and-night operational use by government and allied customers.
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SSTL celebrates successful launch of two new Galileo satellites on Ariane 6
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Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) celebrates the successful launch of the latest pair of Galileo First Generation satellites, SAT-33 and SAT-34 carrying SSTL payloads, which lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana aboard an Ariane 6 launch vehicle. The mission marks the fourteenth launch under the Galileo programme and the first time Galileo spacecraft have flown on Europe’s new heavy-lift rocket.
SSTL supplied the navigation payloads for both satellites from its Guildford facility in the UK, continuing its long-standing contribution of 34 PNT payloads to Europe’s flagship satellite navigation system. The payloads were subsequently integrated onto the satellite platforms by OHB in Germany before final preparation for launch under ESA’s oversight.
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Space scientists find mysterious shock wave around dead star
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Astronomers have discovered a mysterious shock wave around a dead star – something they say has never been seen before.
A team of scientists from the universities of Southampton and Durham, working with others, saw the phenomenon around a white dwarf some 730 light-years from Earth.
The white dwarf is the remnant of a low-mass star being orbited by a companion. Usually, material from its cosmic twin would transfer to the white dwarf, forming a disc which in turn drives powerful outflows from its surface. Under the right conditions, these outflows create a shock wave around the object.
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HydroGNSS - Commissioning Update
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The ESA - HydroGNSS mission has been steadily bringing subsystems online, validating platform operations, and beginning the first sequences of payload data acquisition. These initial days are always among the most revealing for a mission: they confirm that the hardware is behaving as designed, and they offer the first real-world glimpse of the science these compact missions will deliver.
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Europe leaps ahead in space tech as Open Cosmos launches satellites to test 6G capabilities and near real-time AI analytics, for advanced Earth observation
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In a major leap for European space innovation, two pioneering satellites have been successfully launched today, which will pave the way for both secure connectivity solutions, and Earth observation missions from space.
Leading space company Open Cosmos, which designs, manufactures and operates satellites, has achieved a major breakthrough with the successful deployment of two key platforms: 6GStarLab, the first in-orbit telecommunications laboratory, and a new satellite of the Open Constellation contributed by a Fortune 100 company.
The satellites, 6GStarLab, commissioned by i2CAT with support from the Spanish and Catalan governments, and the new Open Constellation satellite, were launched aboard Space X’s Falcon 9 (Transporter 15) on Friday, 28 November 202,5 from Vandenberg, California.
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669 million galaxies catalogued in study seeking to explain universe's accelerating expansion
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The Dark Energy Survey catalogued 669 million galaxies, using 140 million for precise measurements to help understand why the universe's expansion is accelerating rather than slowing down.
Einstein's theory of General Relativity predicted that gravity should slow cosmic expansion. But in 1998, astronomers discovered the opposite was happening. This means either 70% of the universe exists as "dark energy" with a repulsive gravitational force, or General Relativity must be replaced by a new theory of gravity on cosmic scales.
More than 400 scientists from seven countries used a 570-megapixel camera on a telescope in the Chilean Andes, observing the southern sky for 758 nights between 2013 and 2019.
Professor Bob Nichol, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Surrey, joined the collaboration at its inception, securing UK government funding for British scientists and holding several leadership positions.
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Mysterious iron ‘bar’ discovered in famous nebula
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The cloud of iron atoms, described for the first time in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, is in the shape of a bar or strip: it just fits inside the inner layer of the elliptically shaped nebula, familiar from many images including those obtained by the James Webb Space Telescope at infrared wavelengths. The bar’s length is roughly 500 times that of Pluto’s orbit around the Sun and, according to the team, its mass of iron atoms is comparable to the mass of Mars.
The Ring Nebula, first spotted in 1779 in the northern constellation of Lyra by the French astronomer Charles Messier, is a colourful shell of gas thrown off by a star as it ends the nuclear fuel-burning phase of its life. Our own Sun will expel its outer layers in a similar way in a few billion years’ time.
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Scientists solve mystery of how Earth’s greenhouse age ended
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A 66-million-year-old mystery behind how our planet transformed from a tropical greenhouse to the ice-capped world of today has been unravelled by scientists.
Their new study has revealed that Earth’s massive drop in temperature after the dinosaurs went extinct could have been caused by a large decrease in calcium levels in the ocean.
An international team of experts led by the University of Southampton discovered that concentrations of calcium in the sea dropped by more than half across the last 66 million years.
The study, published in Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), showed that the dramatic calcium shift may have sucked carbon dioxide – a major greenhouse gas – out of the atmosphere , driving global cooling.
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Space-Comm is the UK’s largest and most influential space industry event with over 5,400 delegates, 250 exhibitors, 200 speakers, from 50 countries.
Haven't got your ticket yet? Use code "CLUSTER25" for 25% off at checkout!
The Space South Central is attending and we will be exhibiting with 10 companies from the cluster, including:
- Hnosi Space
- Jaltek
- European Engineering and Consultancy Limited
- Satraka Ltd
- R E Thompson & Co (Vacuum) Ltd
- Circuits Integrated UK
- Surrey Nanosystems Ltd
- Stars Edge Ltd
- MDA Space
- CCww
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ESA Proposal Advice Service
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The ESA Proposal Advice Service (ESA PAS) is a UK Space Agency-funded pilot programme designed to help UK-based organisations improve the quality of their proposals submitted to the European Space Agency (ESA). The service provides free, non-technical advice to organisations who are preparing ESA bids and want to strengthen their applications before submission.
ESA PAS focuses on improving the clarity, structure, and strategic alignment of proposals by identifying common errors and areas for improvement. The aim is to increase the competitiveness of UK bids without providing engineering or technical solutions. Feedback is tailored to the five evaluation criteria used by ESA: background and expertise, understanding of requirements and objectives, quality of the proposed programme of work, adequacy of management, costing and planning, and compliance with administrative tender conditions.
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Business Development Manager (Southampton Space Institute)
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The University of Southampton seeks applications for a Business Development Manager (BDM) within the new Southampton Space Institute.
The vision of the Southampton Space Institute is to unify the many space activities across the University, further its growing reputation in space, develop industrial partnerships both local to the South of England, national and international, and increase funding success. This ambition is supported by the University’s world-class facilities enabling excellent space science, space technology development, and terrestrial applications of space data. A dedicated space strategy has been developed to support the vision.
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Great to be in the swing of things with the opening of ESA's permanently open Call For Proposals: Proof-of-concept Studies and Pilot Projects.
There is a subtle change with the introduction of Proof of Concept and Pilot studies, which are very similar to the previous Feasibility Studies and Demonstration Projects, but as subsets. The diagram below best explains the difference:
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- Proof-of-concept studies: Design service concepts and develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to consolidate market opportunities and user engagement
- Pilot Projects: Integrate and pilot the service/product with customers in the primary market, demonstrating full integration in an operational context
This is an Open Call for Proposals, meaning that it is an always-open invitation for businesses to apply for a funding activity relating to a space-enabled application or service for any industry, market or topic. I am always keen to speak to anyone who likes to see how their idea or project might fit.
Email: [email protected]
Linkedin - Grant Day
I am also very excited by the reemergence of the non-competitive calls for proposals. The first one under Access: Thematic Call For Proposals: Responsible Fishing
Fishing plays a crucial role in our food security, while the industry faces significant threats from illegal fishing, pollution and climate change.
Upcoming regulations will support sustainable practices, enhance traceability and protect biodiversity. Digitalisation of the sector is expected and a huge amount of data, which provides the opportunity to build solid solutions that are expected to benefit honest fishers, support the climate and biodiversity commitments.
Opening date: 02-02-2026
Closing date: 07-04-2026
I highly recommend the webinar on 2nd February 10.00 am UK time:
https://lnkd.in/es-pC2jA
Topics of relevance:
- Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported fishing (IUU)
- Overfishing and stock depletion
- Habitat destruction and bycatch
- Monitoring of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
- Product traceability and certification
- Ghost gear and marine pollution
- Monitoring of Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs)
- Worker safety in fisheries
I am also pleased to be partnering with Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult for in-person sessions to explore the technical, commercial, and regulatory inhibitors that have reduced trust and adoption of space-enabled autonomous marine systems in the renewable energy sector.
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Women in Innovation Awards 2025/26
Deadline: Wednesday, 4th February 2026
Women founders or co-founders of UK registered SMEs can apply for a package of support that includes a grant of up to £75,000 and bespoke business support, to further their ambitious growth plans.
Read more here.
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Knowledge Transfer Partnership: 2025 to 2026 round five
Deadline: Wednesday, 4th February 2026
UK-registered academic institutions, research and technology organisations or Catapults can apply for a share of up to £10 million to fund innovation projects with businesses.
Read more here.
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Innovate UK Innovation Loans Round 25
Deadline: Wednesday, 4th March 2026
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is offering loans to micro, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Innovate UK innovation loans are for highly innovative late-stage research and development (R&D) projects with the best potential for the future. There must be a clear route to commercialisation and economic impact.
Read more here.
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Astronomy observation and theory small awards 2026
Deadline: Tuesday, 10th March 2026
Apply for funding to support theory, including modelling, simulation and related software development, observation, experiment and new technology research, relevant to all aspects of astronomy and astrophysics beyond the solar system.
You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding.
Read more here.
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Turing AI Global Fellowships
Deadline: Thursday, 12th March 2026
This fellowship funding opportunity is for exceptional Artificial Intelligence (AI) researchers currently based outside of the UK.
The fellowship offers funding to relocate to the UK, establish a highly skilled team and undertake transformational AI research.
You must have been based outside of the UK for at least 24 months prior to applying and be hosted by a UK research organisation which meets the eligibility criteria set out in the guidance.
The total cost to EPSRC for your project can be up to £4.5 million. Further information set out in the guidance.
Fellowships can last up to five years, starting by 1 February 2027.
Read more here.
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Nucleus Public Engagement Awards 2026
Deadline: Tuesday, 31st March 2026
Apply for funding to engage the public with Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) supported science and/or raise engagement capacity in STFC communities.
You must work for an organisation that:
It is essential that proposals have strong and clear links to the STFC funded remit and include a subject matter expert in an STFC funded remit area.
The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £125,000 for TRAC organisations. We will fund 80% of the FEC. Non-TRAC organisations will be funded at 100%, up to £100,000.
Your project must be between 24 and 36 months in duration.
Read more here.
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Orbit South Central: February 2026
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On February 25th 2026, Space South Central will be hosting our monthly networking event, Orbit South Central, at the University of Southampton’s Future Towns Innovation Hub (FTiH).
Designed to bring together key players from across the UK space sector, our monthly networking events showcase the South Central region’s space activity while opening up discussion on both local and national priorities. They offer a regular opportunity to connect, share expertise, and stay up to date with the latest news and funding opportunities, all while hearing directly from specialists across the ecosystem as they share their insights and ideas.
Speakers include:
- John Camilleri from Green-Co
- Andy Prince from DJB Instruments
- Matt Saunders from Hnosi Space
- Stephen Roebuck from EarthSavvy
We look forward to seeing you very soon.
Sign up here.
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The Space Suppliers Summit is an international business convention connecting buyers and suppliers from across the space manufacturing sector. Now into its second edition, the convention is an opportunity for companies to showcase their unique capabilities, share insights and ideas, and create new networks through targeted business meetings and a high-level conference.
Find out more here.
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Space-Comm Expo at ExCel London is the UK’s leading event for the space industry with over 200 exhibitors, 50 speakers and 5,000 attendees including global leaders and influencers from across government, business, aerospace and defence.
It’s the largest event for the UK space industry with international delegations and visitors from NASA, ESA, NATO alongside Primes, SMEs and Start-Ups at the forefront of technology and innovation.
Now entering its fifth year, the multi award-winning Space-Comm Expo is dedicated to supporting the space industry with a unique format including UK and international exhibitors, product demonstrations, keynote speakers, multiple conference theatres, roundtables and 1-2-1 networking opportunities.
Find out more here.
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Want to become a member of the Space South Central regional space cluster?
Join our growing community of innovators, investors, researchers and space‑enabled businesses. As a member, you’ll gain access to dedicated support, curated opportunities, and a powerful regional network.
Get involved and help shape the future of the South Central space economy.
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The UK space sector is a vibrant ecosystem comprising diverse stakeholder communities, renowned for numerous innovative and globally recognised projects and programmes. However, the sector has traditionally lacked a cohesive systems approach to unite these varied forces and foster collaboration towards a shared vision for the future.
The Space Enterprise Community (SEC) platform has been designed to help address this challenge and support the UK Space Ecosystem to connect and thrive, offering users a selection of tools, resources and groups that connect stakeholders from different communities to enable collaboration while providing support and real-time updates on the latest news, events and opportunities.
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As part of the Satellite Applications Catapult’s national network of 15 Space Enterprise Labs across the UK, facilities in Guildford (Surrey Research Park) and London (IDEALondon) provide a critical platform for businesses and researchers to accelerate space innovation.
As physical anchors for the UK Space Ecosystem and complementing the Space Enterprise Community platform, the Space Enterprise Labs (SELs) bring communities together, both locally and nationally.
They include free access to resources, virtual demonstrations and expertise, as well as technology including:
- Large interactive touch screens and virtual canvas with full connectivity capabilities, enabling seamless delivery of meetings, business support sessions, capability demonstrations, and opportunity development workshops.
- Video conferencing licenses and professional webcams to run high-quality webinars and engage the community.
- Virtual Reality Headsets for demonstrations of space capability (1-on-1 or at events) such as the bespoke Virtual Reality Satellite 101 demonstration featuring the launch, deployment, and operation of a satellite.
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