The U.K. Space Agency is calling forward multi-disciplinary, multi-organisational groups for the Space Collaborative Innovation Team Initiative (Space CITI). Successful teams with innovative ideas will be provided with up to one-half million pounds of funding and world class facilities to call home. Space CITI is a pilot program designed to support accelerated innovation and economic growth. Funding will be available for one or more focussed multi-disciplinary, multi-organisational teams to undertake a programme of work which exploits the unique environment of the International Space Innovation Centre (ISIC) at Harwell, Oxford.
ISIC Ltd. is a not-for-profit-organisation set up by members from the public sector, industry and academia. Its remit is to provide a ‘badgeless’ open, nurturing environment for new space companies. It has been supported by an original 12.5M pounds of government funding and a similar amount of private sector investment. ISIC is an ideal environment for the collaborative projects that Space CITI aims to foster. The Announcement of Opportunity will call for projects that require funding to:
- Build the technical and commercial business case for a new U.K. space-related business
- Solve a technical challenge preventing the creation of a new UK space product
- Create a working prototype of a new UK space-related service or product
- Develop a spin-out product or application of space technology or space data
The core of the U.K. Space Agency strategy is to lead and sustain the growth of the UK space sector. In support of this the National Space Technology Program (NSTP) promotes the accelerated development of new UK space technology for commercial and scientific applications. This pilot programme is the latest strand of the NSTP’s 27M pounds push for space industry growth. Earlier calls have kicked-off 4M pound projects for new satellite communications and Earth observation technologies plus numerous smaller projects across the full range of U.K. expertise from cubesats to future launch vehicles.