Dear Reader,
Here's your monthly round-up of another action-packed month for space in the region.
Our Strategic Partnerships Manager, Dr Liz Clutton, and Dan Smith, our Business Development Manager, headed to Durham for the North East Space Conference.
We've got some exciting updates from our partner universities - including a ministerial visit to the University of Surrey - and the latest news from our ESA Ambassador
There's info on funding opportunities for a range of projects - but don't forget to sign up for our Funding Flash so you don't miss out!
Check out upcoming dates for your diary in July. Perhaps we'll see you at Farnborough International Airshow or our ExtraOrdinary Orbit free networking event at Surrey NanoSystems in Newhaven?
Thank you for being part of the UK's most collaborative regional space community. Stay connected with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Ebony Desposito
Digital Marketing Officer
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Destination Durham for two UK space events
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Last month our Strategic Partnerships Manager, Dr Liz Clutton, and Dan Smith, our Business Development Manager, headed to Durham for the North East Space Conference.
Hosted by our fellow cluster colleagues, Space North East England, at the cityâs Radisson Blu hotel, this yearâs conference brought together more than 350 delegates from industry, academia, government and the investment community to explore future opportunities for growth, collaboration and inward investment.
The following day, representatives from the Satellite Applications Catapult, UK regional space clusters and UK Space Agency headed to Durham Universityâs Business School for a UK Space Ecosystem event on Advanced Connectivity Technologies (ACT) .
Dr Liz Clutton shares her highlights from both events.
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ESA officially adopts ARRAKIHS as F2 Mission: Europe leads the exploration of the low surface brightness universe
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The European Space Agency (ESA) has officially adopted ARRAKIHS as its second FAST-class (F2) scientific mission, with the University of Surrey leading the UKâs role in the project to uncover the hidden history of galaxies ahead of a confirmed target launch date of 2030.
Selected by ESA in 2022, ARRAKIHS (Analysis of Resolved Remnants of Accreted galaxies as a Key Instrument for Halo Surveys) was conceived to provide new insights into one of the major open questions in modern astrophysics: how galaxies form and evolve within the Standard Model of Cosmology.
The decision marks the beginning of the next major phase of the mission, during which the spacecraft and its scientific instrumentation will be built, integrated and space-qualified.
ESAâs adoption follows the successful completion of the conceptual and preliminary design milestones required for the mission, including the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) of the instrument and the delivery of the «Red Book», the definition study report describing the scientific, technical and programmatic implementation of ARRAKIHS.
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Universe expansion still accelerating say astronomers
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Our understanding of the universe remains solid, say astronomers whose new study has found the expansion of the universe is still accelerating as previously found.
In late 2025, a team of astronomers shocked the space community with claims that the evidence of dark energy â a mysterious force that pushes the cosmos apart â was weakening such that the expansion is no longer accelerating.
They suggested the methods used to measure the universeâs expansion using supernovae, or exploding stars, were fundamentally flawed.
But a new study led by the University of Southampton, which re-evaluated the data, has found that the universe is behaving exactly as expected.
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UK Space Minister visits Surrey Space Institute to explore UK leadership in resilient space and digital infrastructure
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Baroness Lloyd of Effra, whose ministerial portfolio covers space, cyber security, telecoms and the digital economy, visited the University of Surrey on Wednesday 24 June to see firstâhand how the Surrey Space Institute and the Universityâs wider research strengths are supporting the UKâs ambitions in the digital and space economy.
Through an overarching focus on resilience, the programme highlighted Surreyâs strengths in resilient space infrastructure, including secure and robust satellite systems, inâorbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing (ISAM), and spaceâenabled services that underpin the UKâs economic security, defence and critical national infrastructure. The Minister also saw how Surreyâs work in advanced communications (5G/6G) and cyber security complements these capabilities, creating an integrated offer across space and digital technologies which is used by industry.
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Scientists discover new rock type on Mars
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A University of Portsmouth scientist helps uncover a previously unknown Martian rock and a mineral that could reveal how Mars evolved billions of years ago.
An international team of scientists has identified a completely new type of rock on the Red Planet and, for the first time ever, discovered the mineral garnet in a Martian sample.
The breakthrough offers a rare glimpse into Mars's ancient past and could help researchers piece together the planet's 4.5-billion-year geological history.
The discovery was made by an international research team including James Darling, Professor of Earth and Planetary Science, from the University of Portsmouthâs School of the Environment and Life Sciences.
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Space mission to investigate âfaint Universeâ
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The European Space Agency (ESA) has officially adopted ARRAKIHS, a mission involving UCL researchers that will observe the faint outer regions of galaxies to better understand how galaxies form and evolve.
ARRAKIHS (which stands for Analysis of Resolved Remnants of Accreted galaxies as a Key Instrument for Halo Surveys) will be ESAâs second FAST-class (F2) scientific mission, with a target launch date of 2030.
The low-surface-brightness, diffuse-stellar halos around galaxies like the Milky Way preserve crucial information about how galaxies evolved, revealing the combined effects of dark matter, galaxy mergers, and other processes that shape galaxies over cosmic time.
ARRAKIHS will thus open a new observational window on to the largely unexplored low-surface-brightness Universe, enabling the study of previously hidden stellar components of the galaxy halos.
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Surrey Space Institute appoints former UK Space Agency CEO Paul Bate
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The former CEO of the UK Space Agency, Dr Paul Bate, is joining the University of Surrey as a Professor in Practice and will support the newly established Surrey Space Institute to develop international partnerships.
Paul led the UK Space Agency for more than four years, stepping down earlier this year when the Agency moved into the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). He led two successful delegations to the European Space Agency Council of Ministers and built bilateral relationships around the world to collaborate on technological developments, space science, exploration and regulatory alignment. Paul has a track record of ensuring that the UK plays an active role in shaping global space activity, having chaired the global Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and as a member of His Majesty the Kingâs Astra Carta Advisory Council.
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Size and Health of the UK Space Industry 2025 Survey
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The âSize and Health of the UK Space Industry 2025â survey is now officially open!
know.space conducts the survey on behalf of the UK Space Agency and the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation.
Helping to understand the performance and needs of the UK space sector. The data it produces shapes UK space strategy, policies, funding decisions, and the case for the UK as a global space nation. This can only happen when sector organisations participate by completing this streamlined industry survey.
If your organisation plays any role in the space supply chain or relies on satellite capabilities for your commercial offering or academic discovery, then this survey is relevant for you.
The survey is only 7 questions, so have your say in shaping the future of the sector.
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Aerospace Defense Americas: Connecting the Space South Central ecosystem to the US market at Farnborough, 21â22 July
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If your organisation is attending Farnborough International Airshow 2026, we wanted to highlight an additional opportunity taking place alongside the show focused on connecting international suppliers with US and EU space and defence buyers, Primes and procurement teams.
World Trade Center Miami is organising Aerospace Defense Americas (ADA), a curated two-day conference and B2B matchmaking event taking place on 21â22 July 2026 within a dedicated conference space at Farnborough International Airshow.
ADA provides a curated platform for targeted business engagement through pre-arranged B2B meetings, senior-level discussions and focused networking alongside the wider FIA exhibition environment.
All B2B meetings are pre-qualified and scheduled in advance based on each companyâs capabilities and sourcing interests, helping create commercially relevant conversations with international counterparts.
The programme will cover:
- US and transatlantic aerospace, space and defence supply chain opportunities
- What US and European Primes and OEMs are actively looking for from international suppliers
- Investment, partnership and market entry opportunities across the Americas
- The growing commercial space and dual-use ecosystem
One day of the programme will also be dedicated to space and dual-use opportunities, developed in collaboration with organisations including Seraphim Space and Space Florida.
The event is particularly relevant for organisations across the Space South ecosystem working in launch, in-orbit services, ground segment, modelling and simulation, advanced manufacturing, and dual-use space and defence technologies looking to strengthen international partnerships and explore US market opportunities.
If your organisation is interested in learning more or exploring participation, please let us know and we would be happy to facilitate an introduction to the World Trade Center Miami team.
Space South Central's Tobias Marchant will be moderating "Session 2 â What US and European Buyers Want from International Space Companies (Fireside Chat) during the event.
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On the 20th of July, SATRO are hosting a Space Day at Kings College Guildford.
SATRO are seeking people to support the delivery of an engaging, hands-on event for 120 Year 10 students. Helping them explore the exciting world of science, technology, engineering and maths through the lens of Space.
They are seeking organisations to deliver 45 minute workshops of groups of around 30 students in a classroom setting.
If you would like to get involved please email [email protected]
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This monthâs Ambassador update includes details of a new thematic call, a portfolio spotlight on an excellent project from the Space South Central Region, and details of an upcoming maritime event.
Thematic Call: Road and Traffic Safety
This thematic call for Proof-of-Concept and Pilot Project activities offers funding for teams who would like to develop sustainable space-based services and applications that address challenges related to the Road and Traffic Safety sector.
Opening date: 15/07/2026
Closing date: 27/11/2026
Topics of relevance:
* Enhancing information exchange
* Improving road design, signage and maintenance to reduce accidents
* Improving road safety by optimising traffic flow
* Implementing measures to protect non-motorised road users
There is a webinar coming on 15th July that I recommend registering for:
https://esacontact.esa.int/Register-to-event/?readableEventId=Road_and_Traffic_Safety_Webinar1593140874
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Project Spotlight: Conservation Integrity by belian.earth
The voluntary carbon market faces an integrity crisis. The challenge is not measuring trees on a project area; it is establishing a credible baseline, meaning what would have happened without the project.
belian.earth is building Carbon Market Certainty: independent, automatically-selected counterfactual baselines with quantified uncertainty. The Company's ramet5 platform uses geospatial artificial intelligence (geo-AI) trained on satellite data to identify the reference areas against which a project's impact is measured.
The activity targeted three user communities:
- Project developers in the voluntary carbon market: companies originating forest conservation, restoration, and improved forest management projects under standards including Verra's VM0047, and VM0010.
- Conservation organisations: non-governmental organisations operating reserves and restoration sites and reporting impact to philanthropic donors.
- Sustainable timber companies: concessionaires demonstrating low-impact forestry against the default assumption that timber extraction is damaging.
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Automatically-selected reference areas (colour gradient) matched to a fictional reforestation project in Southern Africa (pink). The colour scale represents how closely each reference area resembles the project area in land cover and biomass change over time. Image credit: belian.earth Ltd, Project : Conservation Integrity.
Upcoming event: Space-To-Sea Solutions
ESA Space Solutions is pleased to announce the Space-to-Sea Solutions event in Naples on 29 September 2026. This free event will be an opportunity to discuss the vital role that space has to play in both the maritime sector and the blue economy.
DATE: 29 September 2026
TIME: 09:30 - 17:30 CEST
VENUE: Centro Congressi Stazione Marittima, Naples, Italy
Register:
https://esacontact.esa.int/Register-to-event/?readableEventId=Space-to-Sea_Solutions3593077940
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Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition 7
Deadline: Wednesday, 15th July 2026
Funding for feasibility studies, pre-deployment testing, and real-world trials of clean maritime technologies for UK vessels, infrastructure, and/or skills.
Read more here.
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Digitalisation of the water sector
Deadline: Sunday, 30th August 2026
Today, the world faces a defining challenge: how to manage too much, too little or too polluted water in the face of growing populations, climate change and strained infrastructure. Among these pressures, water sanitation has emerged as one the most urgent global concerns. The impacts of climate change, growing demand and the depletion of natural resources call for a paradigm shift in how water service providers, water management authorities, regions, cities and citizens manage and protect water. Society must develop and increase the adoption of innovative solutions to ensure water sustainability and resilience across all societal functions, while fully safeguarding the environment. Strengthening sanitation systems, preventing pollution and improving wastewater treatment are essential steps, but achieving this requires tools that allow for better monitoring, enforcement and long-term planning.
Read more here.
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Digital enablers and building-blocks for Earth Observation and Satellite Telecommunication for Space Solutions
Deadline: Thursday, 3rd September 2026
The topic encompasses actions within the scope of the co-programmed European Partnership on Globally Competitive Space Systems (âSpace Partnershipâ) in the areas of satellite communication (SatCom), Earth Observation (EO) and New Commercial Space Transportation Solutions and is part of cohesive activities in the domain of digital developments under the grand heading of âdigitalisation for commercial space solutionsâ.
For more information on Horizon funding calls contact Elizabeth Clutton:[email protected].
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Scientific analysis and exploitation of space data
Deadline: Thursday, 3rd September 2026
The aim of this Horizon Europe topic is the analysis (including validation) and exploitation of acquired and available data provided by scientific and exploration instruments and missions in their pre-operative, operative, post-operative or data exploitation phase, focusing on astronomy and astrophysics, cosmology, heliophysics, deep space and solar system exploration, ensuring complementarity with activities already supported by agencies during development phases. Such data may also originate from CubeSat and small satellite missions for advancing space science and exploration.
More specifically, data to be analysed are expected to result from science and exploration missions (including cubesat to small satellite missions) from ESA, national space agencies, research organisations and universities missions. Earth observing missions are not considered in the scope of this topic. This analysis may require innovative and advanced data processing techniques, the use of advanced artificial intelligence techniques, novel statistical approaches, multidimensional data fusion while optimizing the use of advanced computing hardware architectures, as well as novel data (re)presentation and visualization techniques.
For more information on Horizon funding calls contact Elizabeth Clutton:[email protected].
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ICURe Discover for Women Entrepreneurs - September 2026
Deadline: Friday, 4th September 2026
Support for women to carry out market and customer discovery; 8 half-day workshops; trainer, mentor, and peer feedback with next steps guidance; up to ÂŁ2,500 support for market discovery activities.
Read more here.
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ExtraOrdinary Orbit South Central July 2026
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ExtraOrdinary Orbit South Central will take place on Wednesday 15th July, marking a milestone moment for the cluster. For the first time, Orbit will be hosted at a cluster memberâs own site, and weâre thrilled that this inaugural onâsite Orbit will be held at Surrey NanoSystems â a company globally recognised for pioneering some of the most advanced nanomaterials in the world.
This is a unique, oneâoff Orbit gathering designed to bring the cluster together in a setting that embodies innovation, precision, and worldâleading science.
Orbit brings cluster members together to strengthen relationships, share insights, and build momentum across the network. It focuses on:
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Connection â deepening collaboration across the cluster
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Inspiration â showcasing extraordinary work and breakthroughs
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Collaboration â tackling shared challenges and opportunities
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Momentum â aligning on priorities and energising the path ahead
Orbit events are intentionally interactive, communityâdriven, and designed to spark ideas and partnerships.
Sign up here.
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Farnborough International Airshow - 2026
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Held biennially at the Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre in Hampshire, England, this premier event offers unparalleled opportunities to forge new connections, engage with thought leaders, and be part of transformative change in aerospace, aviation, space, and defence sectors.
Taking place 20-24 July 2026, Farnborough International Airshow 2026 will host leading innovators from the aerospace, space, aviation and defence industries and beyond, to showcase the latest innovations.
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 spaceâenabled businesses. As a member, youâll 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 Catapultâs 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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