The UK Space Agency has committed £17 million to seventeen cutting-edge space projects through its National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP), announced today
at the Space Comm Expo in Glasgow.
The investment is designed to fast-track breakthrough technologies, strengthen commercial readiness, and reinforce Britain’s position as a global force in space innovation. The selected initiatives span five strategic areas central to the UK’s long-term ambitions: space domain awareness, in-orbit servicing and manufacturing, Earth observation, satellite communications, and position, navigation and timing.
Together, these projects promise to deliver transformative advancements—from quantum-secure communications and robotic servicing systems to AI-driven pollution monitoring and refuellable propulsion technologies—supporting a resilient, competitive and sustainable UK space sector.
Space Minister Liz Lloyd underscored the importance of the investment, saying: “Space technology benefits people’s lives every day - from checking the weather to navigating your car journey home from work. This funding backs the brilliant UK innovators developing the next generation of space technology.
By supporting our space sector, we’re strengthening the UK’s position as a world leader in space innovation and building technologies that will benefit people across the country for years to come”.
Driving economic and public benefit
According to the UK Space Agency, the funded projects are expected to create up to 140 skilled jobs nationwide, bolstering the UK’s talent pool in engineering, data science and advanced manufacturing.
Developments in satellite data and Earth observation will feed directly into public services, supporting everything from weather prediction to agricultural monitoring. Among these efforts is HR Wallingford’s AI tool, which will analyse satellite data to measure how farming practices affect water quality in rivers and coastal bathing waters—information that will help guide more sustainable land use.
In the propulsion sector, Magdrive Ltd is advancing a compact, metal-based plasma thruster designed for mass production in the UK, intended to support the next wave of satellite constellations.
Several projects also carry national security implications. The University of Birmingham is developing an AI-powered radar analysis system to monitor objects in orbit, offering sharper space domain awareness and paving the way for future autonomous satellite operations, supported by bespoke AI models from the Alan Turing Institute.
BAE Systems Digital Intelligence is working on a satellite-based service to detect and track radio emissions on Earth—technology with both civil and defence applications.
Sustainability is another core theme. Protolaunch’s water-based propulsion system and Orbit Fab’s early-stage refuellable electric propulsion technology aim to reduce environmental impacts and extend spacecraft lifetimes. Lodestar Space’s modular robotic tools, designed for autonomous in-orbit servicing, could help limit space debris and prolong satellite operations.
Professor Mark Sims and Professor Anna Hogg, Co-Chairs of the Space Academic Network (SPAN), welcomed the announcement: “We are pleased to see how the UK Space Agency NSIP programme enables great innovation across industry and academia, often jointly supporting the development of real future technologies for the UK space sector. The strengthening of collaboration between industry and academia over the last decade clearly demonstrates the power of working together. The wide variety of technologies now being developed through NSIP is exciting to see, each one representing an opportunity to advance the sector and drive future growth.”
Momentum behind a world-leading space economy
The new funding reinforces the UK’s rapidly growing £18 billion space sector, which has become a major global destination for space investment.
Colin Baldwin, Executive Director of UKspace, praised the programme: “We offer our congratulations to all the successful recipients of these awards. This investment expands the impact of the NSIP and provides the opportunity for space companies and academic institutions to develop innovative new sovereign capability that strengthens the UK in several important areas.
We also welcome the government’s announcement that from 2026 it will be spending more on civil space than ever before. We look forward to working with the emerging “One Government” approach to space to deliver security and growth for our nation”.
The announcement follows the UK’s commitment last week of £1.7 billion to European Space Agency programmes at the ESA Council of Ministers in Bremen—raising the UK’s total ESA investment to £2.8 billion over the next decade. The government estimates the funding will support thousands of high-skilled jobs and stimulate innovation across infrastructure, communications and emerging technologies. Every £1 the UK invests in ESA delivers an estimated £7.49 back into the national economy through contracts awarded to British industry and academia.
Today’s NSIP awards complement recent funding rounds, including £6.8 million through the International Bilateral Fund to strengthen global partnerships and £6.9 million in support of satellite communications projects. Together, these efforts highlight a coordinated strategy to expand the UK’s space capability, advance technological innovation and deliver long-term benefits for people and businesses across the country. Photo by Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Wikimedia commons.