UK Space Agency Increases Funding for Satellite EO Technologies

Via Satellite illustration.

The UK Space Agency (UKSA) is committing a further 15 million pounds ($19.1 million) in funding for satellite Earth observation (EO) technologies. The UKSA announced the new initiative Aug. 2. The money will support the research and experimental development of space-based instruments, aimed at supporting a range of environmental services, which could include meteorology, climate monitoring, environmental management, agriculture and urban planning, and improving scientific knowledge. The Earth Observation Technology Programme funding, delivered by the Centre for Earth Observation Instrumentation (CEOI), is part of a 400 million pound ($511.8 million) package announced in November 2022 to support the U.K.’s EO sector.

Since 2016 the Earth Observation Technology Programme has provided 20 million pounds ($25.6 million) in funding across a total of 57 projects. These include a next Generation Synthetic Aperture Radar for Oceanography led by the National Oceanography Centre with Airbus, a Compact Infrared Imager and Radiometer led by the University of Oxford, and a Laser Heterodyne Radiometer led by RAL Space. This funding opportunity is the latest in a series of technology development activities the UKSA has issued under its Earth Observation Technology Programme.

“Earth Observation technology is critical to tackling the fundamental challenges of our age – from monitoring climate change to responding to humanitarian disasters – and so we owe it to the future of our planet to harness the U.K.’s world-leading skills in this field. This pivotal technology doesn’t stop there and from ensuring the safety of bridges to enabling our farmers get the best from their land, this £15 million investment will boost our economy and drive forward our ambition to make the U.K. a science superpower,” George Freeman, the UK Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, said in a statement.