Britain Allocates £25 Million for Space Surveillance Radar
The UK Space Agency intends to award a £25 million contract to build a ground-based radar for monitoring space objects, with work expected to begin in August 2027.
The UK Space Agency intends to award a £25 million contract to build a high-capacity ground-based space surveillance radar, with the contract expected to be awarded on July 16, 2027, and work commencing on August 1, according to European Spaceflight.
This contract replaces a previous £30 million procurement package that included multiple items, and the radar will be installed at an undisclosed location in the Southern Hemisphere.
The radar is designed to detect objects around five centimeters wide at an altitude of 1,000 kilometers, generating at least 10,000 object tracks daily.
The initial contract spans three years, with an option to extend it until March 2032.
What do these terms mean?
Ground-based space surveillance radar: A ground device that emits electromagnetic waves that bounce off objects in space to determine their locations.
Space object track: A record of an object's movement in space over time, enabling trajectory prediction and collision avoidance.
Space Debris: Remnants of satellites and rockets orbiting Earth that pose a threat to active spacecraft.
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