British Association of Remote Sensing Companies

The International Space Innovation Centre (ISIC) warmly welcomes the recent announcement by David Willetts MP, Minister of State for Science and Universities, that the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) has chosen Satellite Applications as the next Catapult Centre, to be launched in Autumn 2012.

The Satellite Applications Catapult Centre has been selected in recognition of the UK Space sector’s considerable strengths and significant potential for economic growth.

The formation of the Satellite Applications Catapult Centre is designed to provide access to advanced systems for data capture and analysis, supporting the development of new services delivered by satellites. It will also help accelerate the creation of the next generation of space related products and services.

Barbara Ghinelli, ISIC’s Executive Chair commented, “ISIC is delighted at this decision and strongly supports this development, having been involved in providing the TSB with a strong evidence base to promote the space sector and its capabilities. This is great news for the UK space sector and for the UK economy.”

The Satellite Applications Catapult will also enable the UK to remain at the forefront of technological innovation and will help to deliver the economic growth and jobs set out in the Space innovation and Growth Strategy.

For more information please contact Karen Rogers at karen.rogers@isic-space.com or on +44 (0)7841 066839.

On 7 December, the International Space and Innovation Centre (ISIC) received £3 million for the
Climate and Environmental Monitoring from Space (CEMS) facility. The funding was announced by David
Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, as part of a £4.75 million government grant for electronic
infrastructure to support the collection, storage and management of satellite data.

The £3 million is being channelled by the UK Space Agency into the core computing infrastructure
required to make the ISIC CEMS facility a reality. CEMS is being designed as a collaborative framework
to support the open innovation necessary to stimulate growth in the Earth observation downstream
market.

Improved access will encourage businesses to create new offerings and applications for Earth
observation data, and in turn creating jobs and supporting world-class scientific research, increasing
the UK’s share of the global market.

Barbara Ghinelli, ISIC Executive Chair commented, “ISIC is creating the world’s first academic-industrial
CEMS facility to enable data to be preserved and visualised in a useful and accessible way. It will enable
commercial and scientific applications and services to be developed and hosted alongside key data
sets and high performance processing capability; and will provide the essential data quality and
integrity tools to give users complete confidence and transparency in its data, services and products.”

CEMS is also designed to secure the UK’s world leadership position in climate science, technology and
services and support the ESA Climate Office at Harwell, pulling together key capability from the UK
(including SME’s) for key opportunities such as GMES climate services.

For more information please contact Karen Rogers at karen.rogers@isic-space.com or on
+44 (0)7841 066839.

ISIC facilities funding to help accelerate the development of the Centre for Climate & Environmental Monitoring from Space (CEMS)

As part of the £8.5m National Space Technology Programme provided by the UK Space Agency, Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and SEEDA, funding has been allocated for Collaborative Research & Development projects that help accelerate the development of the Centre for Climate and Environmental Monitoring from Space (CEMS) through the International Space Innovation Centre (ISIC).

Barbara Ghinelli, Executive Chair of ISIC, commented, “ISIC believes that the CEMS programme will play an important role in developing the UK’s global leadership in understanding and helping to predict the impact of climate change. ISIC is well positioned as a resource to support Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and other organisations in obtaining funding to use the ISIC facilities, which were specifically designed to help generate ideas for new technologies and innovative solutions.”

The ISIC facilities include the video-wall room, which houses a flexible, high impact display facility comprising a 7.2m x 2.3m, 30 megapixel 28-panel wall supported by high performance computational power, designed to enable organisations to explore, visualise and make use of satellite data and climate model simulations; a Security and Resilience Unit, designed for secure data handling and to ensure the integrity of data communications to and from the satellites; and the Applications Innovation Centre – an environment designed to “spark” new business ideas that use space derived data or technologies.

To help organisations understand more about CEMS and what the ISIC facilities have to offer, ISIC is participating in the TSB Information Day planned to take place between 9.30am and 12.30pm on Wednesday 9 November and will hold a focused CEMS workshop immediately following this event.

For more information please contact Karen Rogers at karen.rogers@isic-space.com or on
+44 (0)7841 066839.

This mission presents an unparalleled opportunity for UK space companies to meet and network with key US private sector space companies and NASA.

UK Trade & Investment, working in partnership with key US space stakeholders, such as Space Florida, is organising a roadshow and trade mission to Denver, Colorado and Orlando, Florida.

The roadshow element of the mission will present the compelling UK space sector proposition, and communicate to the US network, major UK developments such as the UK Space Technology Strategy and the work of key agencies such as the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and the International Space Innovation Centre (ISIC).

To download the Agenda and Application Form – Click Here