Defence Online

Space to Innovate

Homeland May 31, 2023

Some £1.5M of funding has been made available for innovations that can tackle UK Defence and Security challenges in space.

Launched by DASA and Dstl, Space to Innovate – Charlie Drop is the third ‘challenge drop’ and seeks innovations to develop future space science and technologies.

Charlie Drop follows on from the Alpha and Bravo Drops, and offers a broader range of challenge areas to explore novel solutions.

What innovations is DASA looking for?

• novel ways to achieve fine resolution collection for intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance (ISR)
• technologies and techniques to alert, protect and defend satellites
• satellite and ground segment technologies for future Defence operations

Tony Forsythe, Head of Space technology at the UK Space Agency, said: “The UK has a fast-growing space sector that makes a significant contribution to our economy and security. We rely on similar underpinning technologies for civil and defence uses of space and, by working together with our partners at Dstl and DASA, we can tackle shared challenges and seize significant new opportunities. With the Space to Innovate – Charlie Drop competition, we are supporting the development of future space science and technology that can benefit us all.”

Key dates and funding

The total funding available for Space to Innovate – Charlie Drop is £1.5M (excl VAT). DASA expects to fund between three and 12 proposals over a 24 month period.

The deadline to submit a proposal is 12 midday BST on Wednesday 12 July 2023.

Space to Innovate – Charlie Drop Challenge Areas

Challenge Area 1: Novel ways to achieve fine resolution collection for intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance (ISR)

This challenge area seeks technologies and scientific techniques to achieve fine resolution imaging for space-based ISR / Earth Observation, especially from non-Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

Challenge Area 2: Technologies and techniques to alert, protect and defend satellites

This challenge area seeks methods to provide warning of threats, and types of threats to critical Defence and Security assets in space.

Challenge Area 3: Satellite and ground segment technologies for future Defence operations

This challenge seeks to develop technologies for satellite platforms and ground segments of specific relevance to Defence and Security applications.

What is the Space to Innovate Campaign?

The Space to Innovate Campaign was set up to aid UK Defence and Security to develop future space science and technologies. As the third drop in the Space to Innovate Campaign, Charlie Drop follows on from Alpha Drop and Bravo Drops.

The Alpha Drop and Bravo Drops addressed challenges in areas such as visualisation tools for exploiting data from multiple sources, characterisation techniques, ISR technologies and improving signal-to-noise performance of communications and tracking.

The Charlie Drop follows the success of the Alpha Drop, which awarded £1.6M in contracts to eight innovators, and Bravo Drop, which awarded £1M in contracts to five innovators.

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Post written by: Vicky Maggiani

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