Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) has begun partnering with BAE Systems’ Space Systems and Electronics unit to bring the UK technology firm’s small satellite technology and processes to the US market. Under a memorandum of agreement the two companies will offer customers—particularly NASA and the Department of Defense—a broad range of small satellite capabilities, affordably and at low risk.
SSTL designs, manufactures and operates high performance, low cost small satellites, which can be developed rapidly to meet civil and military Earth observation, communications, navigation and space science applications. Complementarily, BAE Systems develops and produces a wide array of space electronics and integrated solutions, from single-board, radiation-hardened computers to complete instrument payloads.
The partnership provides focused capability at lower cost and with shorter time to launch compared with typical satellite programs. It plans to make satellite ownership affordable for US agencies that historically have found the cost prohibitive, while also offering a lower cost alternative to the established US domestic space authorities. “The partnership combines SSTL’s small satellite experience with BAE Systems’ advanced space electronics and ground systems capabilities,” said Leigh Coolidge, director of the BAE Systems Small Satellite Initiative. “Together, we will provide US government customers with an end-to-end solution from concept of operations to on-orbit mission operations to information management.”
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