A new programme, worth over £800,000, has been made available to the UK space sector to help British earth observation businesses compete in the global marketplace.
The programme, named InCubed, is available to the UK space sector as part of European Space Agency (ESA) support for innovative commercial projects related to earth observation. The call is designed to bring groundbreaking systems and products to market and help earth observation businesses compete in the global marketplace.
Distinctive elements of the programme include the opportunity for organisations to work with ESA, benefiting from its expertise, while boosting further growth in the UK’s world-leading space industry, which already employs nearly 42,000 people.
Alasdair Gow, Industrial Sector Lead at the UK Space Agency said: “We depend on observations of the Earth from space in everyday life, as they underpin weather forecasting, monitoring climate change, mapping our environment, and much more. I’m looking forward to seeing the innovative new earth observation products and services that the UK space industry will develop thanks to the InCubed programme. The UK has a fast-growing and world-class Earth Observation sector and our commitment to ESA programmes will continue to build these capabilities.”
How to apply
UK organisations interested in submitting a proposal to InCubed must complete and submit the UK InCubed Idea Pitch form by 5pm Sunday, July 26 2020. Teams with proposals that meet the criteria will be invited to present their ideas to ESA and UKSA, via videoconference. Applicants are required to outline their proposed development and provide answers to any questions posed by the Agencies. Each proposal is required to meet the following criteria:
- Space Segment: activities related to any earth observation related product to be used in the spacecraft (platform, payload)
- Ground Segment: activities related to the ground segment of satellite system (ground stations and mission management, ground networks and data distributions)
- Data Segment: activities related to the processing and the use of the earth observation data (data processing/visualisation, data analytics/insights/applications)
