Look up, and the sky seems empty. Yet thousands of satellites are orbiting the Earth.
They observe and monitor the planet, gathering and distributing data. Satellites are key to connecting and managing our planet.
How is the UK using satellites to protect the future of our planet?
Smart Technology
OneWeb, is a world leader in Low Earth Orbit satellite communications technology. Their satellites will have the ability to provide a new source of broadband connectivity for businesses, communities, and governments around the world. It could also improve connectivity in a range of sectors, including aviation, maritime, and enterprise customers, unlocking digital services and applications in locations that historically have no access to low latency broadband connectivity
Soap Operas from Space
Built in the UK by Airbus, the EUTELSAT QUANTUM satellite is a revolutionary new telecommunications satellite which has the unprecedented ability to be fully reprogrammed and repositioned while in orbit – which means it can beam things like broadcast TV, internet and other multimedia services to regions or areas as and when required.
Space Junk
Space junk is a growing problem and in 2018 the RemoveDEBRIS satellite demonstrated for the first time how to capture pieces of space junk using a net or a harpoon. Both experiments worked brilliantly and gave us valuable information for space debris removal missions in the future.
Weather Watchers
Satellite data about the Earth’s weather variables helps scientists predict weather patterns and prepare for extreme events. Glasgow-based Spire Global builds and operates a constellation of small satellites which they use to collect unique information about our planet from its surface to near – space. They turn those rich Earth Information data into solutions that help improve accuracy of weather forecasts, analyze global ship and plane movements or solve complex, scientific problems.
Climate Change Impact
CyroSat data was used in a paper by the University of Leeds to study global ice loss. The findings revealed that 28 trillion tonnes of ice were lost between 1994 and 2017 – equivalent to a sheet of ice 100 metres thick covering the whole of the UK. This data will be used to assess and track climate change in the future.
Emergency Response
Copernicus is the world’s leading Earth Observation programme. It delivers reliable, global measurements of the Earth using a series of satellites. The data and services it provides have many uses, including to monitor climate change and spot environmental damage. They also help guide emergency services dealing with fires, floods and earthquakes. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission has been used to image the fires like the one in the exhibition. Satellite data from Copernicus’ Sentinel fleet is used by the International Charter Space and Major Disasters. With 17 international members, including the UK Space Agency, this international organisation brings together a large group of satellites, including the Sentinels, to track disasters and help with emergency response.
Linking with Lasers
Archangel Lightworks is on a mission to securely send 100 times more data between space, air and ground assets by using high altitude lasers that fly above the cloud. The valuable Earth Observation data from satellites has many important applications, such as fighting climate change, protecting forests, and even tracking pirates!
Watching the wildlife
Archangel Imaging’s AI camera and sensor system for antipoaching and wildlife monitoring uses satellite communications to send real-time alerts via Cerebella. This allows researchers and security teams to place their cameras and traps wherever is most appropriate for them, regardless of terrain and cellular coverage.
Learning from Oragami
Oxford Space Systems (OSS) is developing a new generation of innovative deployable antennas for the space industry. A scalable helical antenna architecture able to fit within a shoebox-sized nano satellite was developed in partnership with the European Space Agency. These antennas provide reliable and cost-effective solutions for Internet of Things (IoT) constellations and several of them are currently performing in orbit. OSS is currently developing further origami-inspired antenna architectures for other applications using advanced composite materials.
3, 2, 1, Lift Off
Cardiff based Smallspark Space Systems is using artificial intelligence to reduce barriers to accessing space; from lower mass airframes to higher performance combustion chambers in their S4 #SmartHybrid architecture. They use moore.Ai to provide dynamic solutions to dynamic problems and eliminate human bias from engineering design.
SPACEPORTS
The UK’s ambition is for launches to take place from 2022. Treaties and Acts have been put in place to ensure strong international relationships, giving access to global markets, financing and supply chains around the world. This will support the UK government’s aim of growing the UK’s global market share of the space sector to 10% by 2030.