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UK Space Agency executive Paul Bate, center, opens the SSTL clean room. Photo: SSTL

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) opened a new research and development imaging cleanroom at the company’s headquarters in Guildford in the U.K. This facility will play a role in advancing the company’s capabilities in optical imaging, key to its Earth Observation (EO) satellite missions. The company announced the opening, Jan. 21.

The Imaging Cleanroom, now operational and home to SSTL’s Optical Payloads Team, was established with the support of a 250,000 pound ($307,000) grant awarded by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) in March 2024 under the Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund (SCIF).

The new cleanroom, tailored to meet the environmental conditions required for developing and testing sophisticated optical imagers, will enhance SSTL’s capacity to produce leading-edge imaging solutions. Optical imagers are critical components of SSTL’s EO satellites, providing the precise and reliable data essential for applications such as environmental monitoring, disaster management, and urban planning.

“The opening of this state-of-the-art optical cleanroom at Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd is a testament to the UK’s strengths in EO. This facility will play a crucial role in delivering high-performance optical imagers that support a wide range of advanced missions and applications, from monitoring floods and wildfires to delivering intelligence and reconnaissance services. Made possible through our Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund, we are building our national capabilities and developing new satellite technologies that deliver the benefits of space back to Earth,” Paul Bate, Chief Executive, UK Space Agency (UKSA), said in a statement.

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