Daniel Sors Raurell of OpenCosmos satellite tech firm at Harwell Space Campus (Image: Ed Nix)
The UK Space Agency, a government body, is providing £3 million for a new pathfinder satellite to monitor the Earth and provide early detection of climate change indicators. This is part of the Atlantic Constellation project, which is developing a group of satellites in partnership with Portugal and Spain. The new satellite, built by Oxfordshire-based space tech firm Open Cosmos, will provide valuable and regularly updated data on the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans.
The announcement was made on the opening day of the UK Space Conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Andrew Griffith, minister in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, said that earth observation will play an absolutely vital role in tackling global challenges like climate change and disaster relief. He added that by working with Open Cosmos on a new satellite and supporting our Atlantic partners, Spain and Portugal, we can harness space tech for our shared goals while creating new skills opportunities and jobs for the future to grow the UK economy.