AIRBUS TO DEVELOP SPACE CATALYST IN STEVENAGE

Airbus Defence and Space in the UK has been awarded £3.9 million from the UK Space Agency (UKSA) to create a space and connectivity catalyst at its headquarters in Stevenage. The new Space Catalyst will be part of Airbus’ Community for Space Prosperity (CUSP) programme which aims to grow the activity of the UK space supply chain, research and outreach activities.

UKSA launched its Space Clusters and Infrastructure Fund (SCIF) competition in May 2023. In total, UKSA is awarding more than £47m to fund new initiatives and broaden the UK’s industrial space-based economy. The latest figures from UKSA show the UK space industry is worth more than £17.5 billion a year to the economy.

Airbus has launched the Community for Space Prosperity (CUSP) as an initiative which brings together all the various activities and opportunities that Airbus has for the Space industry in the UK under one approach. CUSP has been designed as an open and inclusive community, with opportunities for suppliers, researchers and those joining the Space industry. Airbus wants to ensure that it continues to grow the Space industry in the UK.

Airbus’ plans include creating a series of laboratories for a range of disciplines including robotics, flat satellites, digital twins, cyber etc, which will be available for use by companies in the sector. This would enable innovative hardware to be rapidly matured and de-risked with all facilities connected to enable the demonstration of a full mission.

The facilities will also include a high-tech lab space for collaborative work, or stand-alone industrial use on Virtual and Augmented Reality, enabling new missions to be played and scenario planning. It is expected to attract companies in areas as diverse as space robotics, remote sensing, planetary sciences, climate change, electric aviation, and mixed autonomy traffic operations among others.

The space catalyst will also have the opportunity to link with the Stevenage Bio Science Catalyst to advance space base bioscience research and commercialisation.