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Research conducted within the Department of Space and Climate Physics at UCL has had a significant impact upon e2v Ltd., a manufacturer of charge-coupled devices (CCDs). Through working collaboratively with e2v, UCL has helped the company to secure major contracts and business [text removed for publication]. This includes two contracts for the supply of CCDs for the European Space Agency (ESA) missions Gaia (€20 million) and Euclid (€10 million). Furthermore, the symbiotic relationship has contributed to the establishment of e2v as Europe's leading supplier of high-quality CCDs for space science applications and has underpinned an improved understanding of device design and optimisation within the company.
UCL's research and development programme in space science and engineering enabled it to complete four major contracts with European and Canadian space companies between 2009 and 2011. These contracts were for the supply of equipment that will fly on European and Indian space missions, and for support of the ground testing of those space missions. The fact that these contracts were won by UCL in a competitive environment against low-cost industrial providers demonstrates that customers value the capability that UCL possesses. By acting as a specialist provider within the UK space sector supply chain, UCL enabled the prime contractors European Astrium Aerospace and Canadian Routes AstroEngineering Ltd. to deliver substantial commercial contracts with space agencies. Its provision of specialist input into these major contracts enabled UCL to also directly support the growth of the commercial space sector.
Space weather can adversely affect the performance of many communication and navigation systems. Research into space weather events and their mapping through our Multi-Instrument Data Analysis System (MIDAS) algorithms have highlighted the vulnerability of Global Satellite Navigation Systems (including GPS). The impact of our research has occurred in three main ways. Firstly, it has impacted on the global satellite and communications industry by enabling space-weather effects to be included in a sophisticated commercial GPS simulator. Secondly, it has impacted on UK government [text removed for publication]. Thirdly, it has engaged and informed the public about GPS and space weather.
Researchers at the University of Reading have developed and implemented ground and satellite-based techniques that improve the monitoring of impending volcanic eruptions and their aftermath. Our systems have been mainly used in collaboration with the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) and the local government civil protection committee on Montserrat. In July 2008 the early rescinding of a precautionary evacuation was made possible by these techniques, thereby minimising disruption and lost economic revenue. The deployment of a permanent, operational ground-based instrument on Montserrat provides a capability that will reassure inhabitants and the island's commercial sector of future timely warnings, thereby enhancing their quality of life and allowing companies to return to the island.
The Unit is a pioneer in the field of americium-based radioisotope space nuclear power systems, referred to as radioisotope thermoelectric generators or RTGs, and has established key partnerships with industry in the UK and US. Americium-241 has been chosen as a solution given the global shortage of supply of plutonium-238. This research has made rapid progress, developed the first working prototype system for the European programme and shaped government policy resulting in an announcement in November 2012 of the decision by government to invest £18.4 million in innovative space technologies including space nuclear power as part of the next 4-year cycle of UK investment in the European Space Agency (ESA). As a direct result, prioritisation of space nuclear power systems is now part of a new UK strategy of investment in enabling technologies for space applications with technology transfer opportunities for the terrestrial energy sector. High value jobs have been created and sustained in UK industry and academia with the investment of >£4 million in the UK.
The University of Southampton's research into space debris has made a vital contribution to space policy by addressing an issue identified by the United Nations (UN) as having important implications for all humanity. This research has played a key role in advising policymakers "on how best to manage the orbital environment in a sustainable manner for generations to come" (page 52, UK in Space, British National Space Centre, 2009). Challenging prevailing theories, researchers influenced Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) Space Debris Mitigation (SDM) guidelines, resulting in the implementation of sustainable practices by satellite operators in Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) requiring an investment by them of an estimated £1 billion since 2008.
The Space & Atmospheric Physics (SPAT) group's magnetometer laboratory at Imperial has developed a small and lightweight magnetic field instrument intended to be flown on future generations of extremely small satellites or planetary landers. The instrument will be used for planetary research or plasma physics in the space environment, and also has application for attitude determination on satellites in Earth-orbit, by comparison with the geomagnetic field (`digital compass'). In 2010 Imperial Innovations granted Satellite Services Ltd (now the SSBV Aerospace and Technology Group) an exclusive 3-year license to market the design for the commercial satellite sector. Satellite Services have sold seven units (circa. € 10,000 per unit) with further commercial sales anticipated in the coming years. Sales of the device have contributed significantly to SSBV's company turnover, indicating the economic impact of the SPAT group's research.
A facility for precision diamond machining of optical components arose from research at Durham University to produce instruments for large telescopes, including NASA's James Webb Space telescope. This now provides a specialist service to industry, with contracts worth over £2.0M from >20 companies over the past 5 years. The users span applications including ophthalmics, automotive optics, microstructures for backlit displays and IR optics. An emerging application is the use of high precision machine metal moulds to reproduce ophthalmic lenses for spectacles. Examples include PixelOptics (USA) who make high-end electronically corrective eyewear, which has won several ophthalmic industry R&D awards, and Eyejusters (UK), which employs complex surface slide lens technology to provide low cost spectacles aimed at improving the lives of people in the developing world.
The difficulty of certifying the safety (often termed Verification and Validation — V&V) of increasingly complex and more autonomous Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) systems is now widely accepted to be a serious threat to the success of future space missions. In response to this threat, the European Space Agency has funded Dr Prathyush P Menon and his team to develop a suite of mathematical tools for the V&V of advanced GNC systems. These tools have now been widely adopted throughout the European Space industry, and have been successfully applied by major companies such as Astrium, Thales-Alenia and GMV to systems ranging from flexible and autonomous satellites, to launch vehicles and hypersonic re-entry vehicles.
An ambitious programme of research has discovered entirely new families of orbits for solar sails, spacecraft propelled by the pressure of sunlight. The unique applications of these new orbits for space weather, Earth observation and communications are directly influencing top-level space agency thinking and have unlocked industry investments to bring the technology to flight readiness. The new families of orbits are now embedded in agency roadmaps (NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), German Space Agency (DLR)) and help underpin a $20M NASA solar sail demonstration mission. The supporting research has substantial reach due to its impact across a broad range of sectors and has international significance through industry-led technology demonstration missions.202f