Insights Issue 4 Space

7/28/2019 Insights Issue 4 Space

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InsightsBeyond measurement

The Satellite

Applications CatapultStuart Martin, CEO, Satellite Applications Catapult

ESA and the role o

measurement in spaceDr Constantinos Stavrinidis, Head o the

Mechanical Engineering Department, European

Space Technology Research Centre (ESTEC)

Astrium Emissions

Measurement ServiceChristle Donadini, CTO InnovationsManager, Astrium


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SpaceStay Competitive, Innovate in Metrology

NPL collaborates with people around the world who want to use technology

to explore the Universe, monitor the Earth or communicate globally. For over

40 years, NPL has worked with space companies and agencies, providing

innovation in measurement research, technology and services.

NPL works with thousands o worldwide users, helping them to drive orward

their businesses by delivering the specialised expertise required to help them

innovate and stay ahead o the competition.

NPLs reputation relies on the quality o support we provide, both directly

and indirectly, to all who engage with us. Our commitment to scientic

excellence is coupled with a determination to oer high quality and

aordable services that are o the greatest possible technical and commercial

benet to our customers.

www.npl.co.uk/commercial-services/sectors/space



ForewordDavid Willetts,Minister or Universities and Science

I am pleased to introduce

the Space editionoInsights Beyondmeasurementromthe National PhysicalLaboratory (NPL), whoprovide vital measurementscience and services to

thousands o people every year, oten bridgingthe gap between basic researchand ull commercialisation. This editionhighlights the people and organisationsthat are making the UK space industry a

phenomenal success story.

NPL has a unique role in providingspace metrology innovation, working inpartnership with academia, industry andspace agencies to deliver highly competitiveand innovative spacecrat and developpioneering satellite based applications. NPLapplies its deep understanding o traceable,quality measurement to the greatest globalchallenges, including NPLs leadership ininternational eorts to reduce the

uncertainty o data used in generatingclimate change orecasts.

The Government is now ar more committed,coordinated and strategic in its space policythan at any point in the last 50 years. Weare proud o our space industry, and Britishbusinesses are winning contracts on the worldmarket. Indeed, every Galileo spacecrat, rom

the rst test model, has either been built herein the UK or relies on UK space technology.This is testament to the quality o our satellitemanuacturers.

The space industry is an excellent example opublic and private investment in innovationand collaboration producing real economicbenet and great technological achievement.The launch o the Satellite ApplicationsCatapult and the development o the Harwellsite in Oxord will urther ensure that the UK

remains at the oreront o space technologyand places us a global leader in the provisiono space services.

Looking orward, it is important that the entireUK space community continues to maintainits strong position in order to achieve 10% oa global space economy, which is likely to beworth some 400bn by 2030.

www.npl.co.uk

4 Introducing the SatelliteApplications CatapultStuart Martin, Chie Executive Ocer, Satellite

Applications Catapult

6 ESA and the role omeasurement in spaceDr Constantinos Stavrinidis, Head o theMechanical Engineering Department, EuropeanSpace Technology Research Centre (ESTEC)

8 The Astrium EmissionsMeasurement ServiceChristle Donadini, Innovations Manager,Astrium Services

10 Future optical clocktechnologies or spaceLeon Lobo, Time and Frequency BusinessDevelopment Manager, NPL

12 A snapshot o NPLs work in spaceSetnam Shermar, Laurie Winkless,Dan Veal, Dr Nigel Fox, NPL

16 One giant leap or the UK economyRobert Elliott, Space BusinessDevelopment Manager, NPL


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Introducing the Satellite

Applications CatapultStuart Martin, Chie Executive Ofcer, Satellite Applications Catapultthe sector to capture 10% o the ast-growinggrowing global space market, a 3% rise on thecurrent share enjoyed by the UK.

The Catapult programme is a vital element othe UKs strategy to drive economic growth

rom emerging technologies, and our aim is tomake the UK the place to be i you want to dobusiness in space. As part o the TechnologyStrategy Boards powerul Catapult initiative,we have a great opportunity to put the UK ina premier position developing world-beatingapplications by joining up our world-classacademic base and creative businesses, bothsmall and large.

We oer support to SMEs looking to grow byproviding access to expertise and high value

acilities end-user organisations, as well asworking with academics and individuals toidentiy the commercial potential in their ideasor research.

Providing in-orbit test acilities means we willalso be helping innovative UK organisationsto demonstrate new satellite technologies,removing signicant cost barriers andshortening the time UK businesses will waitto achieve a rst fight demonstration or newequipment and technologies in space.

We are also here to help end-userorganisations to understand how satelliteapplications could help their businesses.Working with many dierent organisations andindividuals throughout the value chain, wewill be helping to make connections betweenthem to oster new commercial relationships.

Building on ISICs success

The International Space Innovation Centre

(ISIC) will be incorporated into the SatelliteApplications Catapult rom April 2013. Sincelaunching nearly two years ago, ISIC has

The UK space sector is increasingly

recognised or its signicant

contribution to the UK economy,

based upon its commitment to

excellence and innovation, and

sustained high-level growth. Italready commands a 7% share o

the global space market, and aims to

grow signicantly to secure an even

greater stake as the market swells

to a predicted value o 400 billion

by 2030.

To support thisambition, the Satellite

Applications Catapultwas recently establishedby the TechnologyStrategy Board. As parto a Government-ledprogramme, the Satellite

Applications Catapult exists to support UKbusinesses, with the aim o becoming aworld-class centre or the development andcommercial exploitation o space and satellite-based products, services and applications.

We are part o a seven-strong networko world-leading centres o excellence intechnology and innovation under the Catapultprogramme, and Minister or Universitiesand Science, David Willetts, has expressed hissupport or our role in stimulating the rapidcommercialisation o space technologies inthe UK.

A 40bn slice o the global

space market

Based in Harwell, Oxord, the SatelliteApplications Catapult will be at the oreront othe UK space industrys growth plans, helping


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Introducing the Satellite Applications Catapult

Insights Beyond measurement|5

Facilitating growth

Through the course o our work, the SatelliteApplications Catapult will need a number oacilities to deliver NPLs programmes, andmany o these acilities already exist as either

public or private assets. We will make useo these through negotiated service levelagreements.

In cases where a acility that is integral to thesuccessul delivery o Catapult programmesand projects is not available, however, weplan to develop new acilities through ourcore grant, subject to a compelling businesscase. Facilities may be developed to supportan individual project, a portolio o projectswithin a programme or an entire programme,

and we expect these to come under threecategories: mission platorms (supportingupstream technology developers), applicationdevelopment and test platorms, and supportacilities.

Our aim, as with all o our programmes,is or the development o new acilities tocontribute signicantly to the UKs growth andcompetitiveness in the space sector.

become a catalyst or space sector growth.The Satellite Applications Catapult will buildon the signicant achievements o ISIC andtake orward a shared vision to accelerategrowth in the UK space sector and helpsimpliy and more powerully direct space

innovation activity.

Identiying market opportunities

The Catapult will operate through deliveringboth market-led and technology-drivenprogrammes, which have been identiedollowing extensive consultation with thecommunity. We based our selection criteriaon key actors including growth potential,academic strength, UK capability/interest,and competition.

The rst market-led programmes are:transport; security and civil protection; naturalresources management, energy and climate;and Internet o Things. Between them, thesemarkets have a global growth potential o over$100bn in the next decade.

These programmes will consist o projectsthat are clustered around identied sectorialmarket requirements, and may bring togethermultiple satellite-based domains (Earth

observation, navigation and communications)or addressing these needs.

Capitalising on technology

Our technology-driven programmes willocus on developing and demonstratingthe capabilities o existing or new satellitetechnologies and space-based assets, therebyremoving barriers to their commercialapplication in a range o dierent marketsectors. Further to the Catapults consultation

process, it was identied that we shouldinitially address two technology-drivenprogrammes: space segment technologies,and ground and user segment technologies.

The Catapult programmes will consist o anumber o strategic, catalytic, collaborativeand commercial projects. The project portoliowill be shaped through consultation ora andusing criteria developed to prioritise work. Incarrying out projects, we must also be mindulo IPR and state aid issues and policies have

been drated in both o these areas to providea baseline position.


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ESA and the role of

measurement in spaceDr Constantinos Stavrinidis is Head o the MechanicalEngineering Department in the European Space Technology

Research Centre (ESTEC), based in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

Here, he describes the valuable role that testing and

measurement technologies provide or the space missions.

ImagecourtesyofESA



ESA and the role o measurement in space


ESTEC is the European Space

Agencys (ESA) heart o technical

developments. ESTECs technical

work is critical to the perormance

o space projects currently in

operation, and denes the potential

o uture missions. At any one

time there may be up to 50 space

missions being undertaken or in the

planning stages, encompassing a

vast array o projects rom planetary

exploration through to satellites

or next generation weather

orecasting.

During the various phaseso its development, aspacecrat and all o itsparts undergo rigorousand extensive testing.At ESA, the majority ospacecrat are tested inthe ESTEC Test Centre -the largest centre o

its kind in Europe, and one o the biggestin the world.

The ESTEC Test Centre recreates the launchand space environments a spacecrat willexperience. The quality o measurementscarried out here is critical in meeting thetest standards or spacecrat testing, and theoverall success o the mission.

As increasingly challenging space missions areexplored and developed, spacecrat testingrequirements must also evolve.

New mission BepiColumbo is a great example.Scheduled or launch in 2015 to visit Mercury,the spacecrat will endure temperatures o350 C whilst carrying out careul studies othe planet or one year or more. When youconsider the cost o the spacecrat will bemore than 1bn, it is essential to understandbeorehand i it will perorm as expected.In order to adequately test the spacecrat,it is o paramount importance that themeasurements used are valid and robust.

As such an important actor, the MechanicalEngineering Department and the ESTEC TestCentre are continuously innovating in the

way we carry out tests. We do this by workingin partnership with metrology experts suchas NPL to improve measurement, adopt newinnovative measurement technologies tomeet new testing requirements, and maintaina sophisticated quality management system.

An example o this is the increasing needto understand and suppress weak micro-vibrations on payload instruments duringspacecrat operations. NPL worked closelywith the ESTEC Test Centre to develop andoperate a new test acility dedicated to this,which will allow ESA to condently measuremicro-vibrations on components, traceable tointernational standards.

In uture, as payload instrumentation becomesmore complex and more sensitive to its

surroundings, the use o validated testing andmeasurement systems will become even moreimportant than they are now. For this reason,we will continue to work even closer withexperts like NPL in order to achieve a greaterunderstanding o how the payload interactswith the satellite and the harsh environmento Space.

the Mechanical Engineering

Department and the ESTEC

Test Centre are continuously

innovating in the way we carry

out tests. We do this by workingin partnership with metrology

experts such as NPL to improve

measurement



Monitoring and controlling

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

is crucial at international, national

and major city level, to both reduce

the level o polluting emissions and

to promote the uptake o green,

low carbon technologies. This will

become even more important as

growing populations will make

our uture cities the primary

contribution to man-made global

climate change, and countries

will need to implement robuststrategies to report and reduce

their carbon ootprint.

Astrium is leading aproject with the Centreor Carbon Measurementat NPL, the NationalCentre or EarthObservation (NCEO),and the Laboratoire desSciences du Climat et

lEnvironnement (LSCE) to develop a way omeasuring the amount o greenhouse gasesin the atmosphere. The project also aimsto provide this as a seamless global serviceto complement current inventories andestimations, which are based on values derivedrom statistical data that is two years out odate on average.

Great progress has been made in reportingand veriying GHGs through the work ovarious organisations including the CarbonDisclosure Project, the World Business Councilor Sustainable Development, and the WorldResources Institute. However, a universal

The Astrium Emissions

Measurement ServiceChristle Donadini, Chie Technical Ofce Innovations Managerat Astrium Services, explains a new satellite-based service to help

combat climate change and develop a low carbon economy.

understanding o greenhouse gas emissionsmeasurement has not yet been achieved.

Many outstanding questions remain, such ashow to categorise emissions, which coecientto use in calculations, how to expressuncertainty in measurement, and how toaccount or impacts. Underpinning all o thisis the question o how to achieve consistencyo approach to measurement o greenhousegas emissions. Current inconsistencies have ledto large discrepancies and errors in reportingo GHG estimates, which could ultimatelymislead policy makers when determining theeectiveness o GHG reduction measures. The

uncertainty in Chinas emissions, or example,is as large as the total GHG emissions o Japan.

These questions are amiliar to measurementscientists, such as those involved in the Centreor Carbon Measurement at NPL, whosework will play a crucial role in providing theconsistency, accuracy and traceability omeasurement.

Over the coming years, measurement scientistswill play a key role in developing the technical

methods or business and governments tomonitor emissions, which will inorm decisionsand policy. They will also need to developneutral and reliable language and internationalstandards to allow eective and coordinatedreporting.

The Astrium Emission Measurement Servicewill take a central role in providing a wayorward based on real and independentmeasurements, to complement the currentinventory/estimation-based method o

calculating greenhouse gases. It is essentialthat the service is cost-ecient, trustworthy,up-to-date, reliable and seamlessly global.



The Astrium Emissions Measurement Service

This will be achieved by using an integrateddata collection acility. Using innovativesensor technologies to measure real timegas concentrations o carbon dioxide (CO

2),

carbon monoxide (CO), and methane (CH4)

rom ground stations, aircrat and satellites.

With this, we will determine CO2 equivalentemissions with associated uncertainties andthen identiy the sources o these emissions.This allows or the ull global coveragerequired, but can be easily and rapidlydeployed wherever needed to deliver theservice rom national down to large city scale.

This service architecture was piloted last yearin London. Astrium deployed a GHG sensornetwork and converted a London bus to hosta mobile GHG sensor, which was then driven

around a xed London route every day todetect GHG concentrations and variations atstreet level. The whole system was calibratedand maintained using NPL high quality gasstandards, and potential end-users wereinvited to demonstrations organised on-boardthe bus, showcasing the service in action.

Airborne and satellite observations weremade over London at the same time, and theteam combined the various measurements toproduce a real-time cityscape video o carbondioxide and methane concentrations aroundcentral London. 3D visualisations o modelled

emission sources over London, the UK andthe world show how natural sources and sinkso carbon dioxide compare with man-madeemissions over a cycle o days and weeks.

The London measurement campaigndemonstrated the viability o the GHGEmissions Measurement Service beingdeveloped by Astrium and its partners, whowill increase urther their capabilities byparticipating in similar initiative in Parisand Rotterdam.



sub-component technologies. These includethe cold atom or ion physics reerencepackage, the optical local oscillator (theclock laser), the clock system control unit andsubsidiary cooling lasers.

High stability lasers using orce-

insensitive optical cavities

NPL has produced a stable optical reerencecavity that is a vital component o veryhigh requency optical oscillators or use indiverse ESA application areas such as Earthobservation, satellite communications, anduture undamental physics missions involvingoptical atomic clocks.

The cavity is designed to survive a launch andoperate in the harsh environment o space.It is insensitive to inertial orces acting inany direction and to the compressive orceused to constrain it. The design is based ona cubic geometry with our supports placedsymmetrically about the optical axis in atetrahedral conguration. It achieves thelowest passive sensitivity to vibration reportedor an optical cavity.

Frequency combsNPL were part o an ESA high accuracyabsolute long distance measurement studythat considered opportunities oered byemtosecond combs or accurate measuremento inter-satellite distances in ormation fyingspace missions. Such missions involve multiplespacecrat fying between tens and hundredso metres apart in order to gather more databy eectively acting as one large sensor. Combmeasurements are one o the techniques that

can be used to make accurate measurementso these inter-satellite distances.

Future optical clock

technologies for spaceLeon Lobo, Time & FrequencyBusiness Development Manager, NPL

NPL is playing a prominent role in

a Europe-wide efort that aims to

advance optical clock and optical

requency comb technologies,

with a view to incorporating themin relevant space missions and

spacecrat inrastructures within

a decade.

The combination o state-o-the-art cold atom andion optical requencystandards with opticalrequency combs providesthe capability or optical

clocks to outperorm thebest available microwaveclocks by more than an

order o magnitude. The underlying clocktechnology allows accurate comparisono widely dierent optical requencies,leading-edge down conversion to microwaverequencies, and ollow-on capability to maketime interval, distance and gravitationalpotential measurements.

However, this technology is not yet mature

enough or integration into space missions.NPL scientists, along with other Europeanresearch teams, are actively working ona number o projects to accelerate itsdevelopment to a technology readiness levelsuitable or use in uture space missions.

Optical clock sub-component

development

NPL is part o a European consortiuminvolved in an ESA technology projecttargeting the development o space-qualiable reduced-payload optical clock



Future optical clock technologies or space

Atmospheric trace gas analysis

rom space

Knowledge o the level and distribution ocontaminants such as carbon dioxide withinthe atmosphere is critical to our understanding

o global warming, and satellite-based time-resolved backscatter measurements o tracegas absorption provide a versatile methodto gather such data. NPL is involved in anESA activity to develop requency-stabilisedspectroscopic reerences to provide highresolution wavelength calibration or suchsatellite monitoring.

STE-QUEST

We are also contributing to the ESA Cosmic

Vision Space-Time Explorer and QuantumTest o the Equivalence (STE-QUEST) missionproposal, which is devoted to a precisemeasurement o the eect o gravity on timeand matter using an atomic clock and an atomintererometer.

I selected, this international project will testa undamental prediction o Einsteins theoryo general relativity with high precision. STE-QUEST combines matter-wave intererometryand clock timing in one mission, testing

aspects o Einsteins equivalence principle inthe search or a uniying theory o quantummechanics and gravity.

One o the primary goals o the missionwill be to measure gravitational redshitsto improved accuracies over ESAs ACES(Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space) missionon the International Space Station (ISS), bymaking use o elliptical orbits and advancedatomic clocks. The second goal is a quantum

test o the universality o ree-all byintererometrically tracking the propagationo matter waves in the Earths gravity eld. Forthe ACES mission, NPL will be hosting one othe microwave ground terminals, contributingground clock reerencing and analysis.

SOC2

NPL also has an important role in theEuropean Framework 7 project Space OpticalClock, SOC2, which will demonstrate high-perormance transportable neutral atomoptical lattice clocks, leading to a uturemission deployment on the ISS. Projectdevelopments include the necessary lasersystems, and atomic packages that makeuse o novel solutions with reduced space,

power and mass requirements, such as NPLspermanent magnet Zeeman slower orpre-cooling the atoms, and monolithicmultiple cavity structures or stabilisingthe auxiliary lasers.

In summary, a range o new applications willbe enabled by ultra-precise optical clocksdeployed in space. This includes the eldso undamental physics or testing generalrelativity; time and requency metrology orthe comparison o remote terrestrial clocks,

perhaps with uture operation o master clocksin space; geophysics to map the gravitationalpotential o the Earth; deep space navigation,and potential applications in astronomy,such as local oscillators or radio ranging andintererometry in space. NPLs team, led byPro Patrick Gill, has considerable expertise inthe eld o optical requency standards andmetrology, and is contributing signicantly tomaking this technology a reality.



decade, a small number o studies have beencarried out by dierent space agencies. It isclear that extremely sensitive X-ray detectorsare needed, but i it is achievable to use evena single pulsar, this could be benecial or amission to the outer Solar System or even auture manned mission to Mars.

The project I am leading at NPL is one o a

small number o its kind in the world andis still at concept stage. We are evaluatingthe timing and navigation potential anddeveloping algorithms, whilst our colleaguesat Leicester University are advising on X-rayinstrumentation and X-ray astronomy. Theoutput will advise ESA on its technical strategyand whether or not it will be viable to usepulsars or deep space navigation.

A snapshot of NPLs

work in spaceTurn let at the next pulsar

Setnam Shemar, Time & Frequency Group

The Time & FrequencyGroup at NPL is taskedwith the developmentand operation o the UKsnational time scale. This

denes civil time in theUK, to the extent thatyou could say all time is

traced back to NPL and its atomic clocks. Ourwork involves developing and applying thevery latest time measurement techniques andanalysis methods.

We are encouraged to apply our knowledgeand understanding o time and timingtechniques to new applications o benetto the wider industry and society in general,

and recently we have become involved inspacecrat navigation.

Together with the University o Leicester,we are carrying out a easibility study todetermine whether X-ray pulsars, whichare exotic stars observed as pulsating X-raybeacons in space, could be used to speed upand improve navigation data or spacecrat, onbehal o the European Space Agency (ESA).

Currently, a spacecrat on an interplanetary

mission needs to communicate with Earth todetermine its location and conrm that it is onthe correct trajectory. The process o receiving,analysing and returning data, however,can take several hours, which means that aspacecrat aces a signicant delay beore itcan react.

The hope o our research is that, in the uture,a spacecrat will instead be able to locate itselbased on its relative position to known X-raypulsars, using a concept similar to existing

sat-nav systems. This idea originated in the1980s and since then, particularly in the last


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A snapshot o NPLs work in space


Putting the heat into space power

Laurie Winkless, Functional Materials Group

Our work ocuses onthe characterisation o

thermoelectric generators(TEGs), which aresemiconductor-basedheat engines that usetemperature dierence toproduce electricity. These

devices are used to harvest waste heat in manyterrestrial applications, but they also haveproven history in space.

Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators(RTGs) have been used in the space industry

since the Apollo era. At its heart, an RTG hasan encapsulated radioisotope source whichproduces heat. This is then surrounded bythermoelectric generators which are cooledon the opposite side by the low temperatureso deep space. Although this technologyhas been used since the 1960s, the researchhas continued to evolve, so that even recentmissions like the Mars Curiosity Rover dependon these nuclear batteries or power.

The UK is the lead investor in the Mars RoboticExploration Preparation Programme, part owhich is the development o the rst EuropeanRTG. A consortium o UK universities andcompanies has already developed a prototypesystem based on commercial TEGs. At NPL,

we are working on the required test systemnecessary or the next stage o this work,which will characterise the perormance othese TEGs under specic conditions.

We can currently characterise the perormanceo thermoelectric generators and materialsover a wide range o temperatures (liquidnitrogen to 700 C), and we are also leadingthe UK eort to produce the rst measurementstandard or these devices.

Many nanostructured materials havepotential or use within the space industry.Nanostructured thermoelectric materials havedemonstrated high eciencies, but a lack ometrology and low Technology ReadinessLevel (TRL) has also limited their developmentso ar. In 2010, my team at NPL developed aNanomaterials Roadmap or ESA, which hashelped to providing a realistic path-to-marketor nano-enhanced materials.




Isolating the issue

Dan Veal, Mass & Dimensional Group

The Mass & DimensionalGroup at NPL is tasked

with solving variousmetrology problemsrelated to orce andvibration. As part o this,I work on mechanicalmicrovibration projectsto develop new satellite

component test equipment or ESA or theirESTEC Test Centre in the Netherlands. This isthe largest acility o its kind in Europe andone o the largest in the world, and its primaryrole is to evaluate prototypes and veriy that

instruments and equipment will operate asintended.

I a spacecrat component is producingunwanted vibration, perhaps because o aworn-out bearing or slight manuacturingfaw, it is critical that this vibration pollutionis measured. Even very small microvibrationscan aect other components and instrumentson the spacecrat, and how well they arecharacterised can directly infuence thesuccess o a mission.

The work we are doing at NPL improves ESAsmeasurement capability, and thereore itsability to support uture missions, in two

ways. Firstly, we are developing an activevibration isolation system which uses low-noise sensors and actuators in order to isolateexisting equipment rom external noise moreeectively than traditional passive systems.Secondly, we are supporting ESA by building

new, innovative measurement equipmentthat works at much lower requencies andis sensitive to much lower orces than theequipment they currently have.

The breadth o our groups experience in orce,as well as dimensional and mass measurement,is a huge benet to our work in this area as weare able to draw on multi-disciplinary expertiseto inorm our research.

These particular mechanical microvibration

projects are still in their relatively early stages,but we expect our work to play an importantrole in ensuring the success o ESAs spacemissions in the uture. For example, ourequipment could support uture proposedmissions such as the New Gravitational waveObservatory (NGO, ormerly LISA), which isbased on ormation fying requiring very tightrelative position control o three satellitesand would thereore be very sensitive to anyuncharacterised vibrations.

We have completed our initial studies and arenow working on building it into commercial-grade equipment which aims to be deployedat ESTEC within the next couple o years.




the world radio metric reerence or solarirradiance measurements.

Our work also looks at the intercomparison osatellite data over common targets such as thesnowelds o Antarctica, and a member o my

team is currently in the Arctic at present. Otherprojects look at how to evaluate and assignquality indicators on Earth observation data,all the way through to applications quantiyingamount o carbon in orests.

Within the wider international EarthObservation community, we have also runa number o comparisons to harmonise themeasurement o ocean colour, land suracerefectance, and sea surace temperature.

Going orward, our aim is to build on ourexpertise and expand our work establishingquality indicators to support climateapplications and climate services.

More inormation on NPLs work in

the space industry - www.npl.co.uk/

commercial-services/sectors/space/

Keeping an accurate eye on Earth

Dr Nigel Fox, Earth Observation & ClimateChange Group

In recent years there has

been increasing demandor improved accuracyand reliability o EarthObservation (EO) data,stimulated not only byour desire to understandbetter the workingso our planet and the

cause and impact o climate change, but alsobecause improvements in models allow us todiscriminate better between data.

The Climate Data theme o the Centre orCarbon Measurement at NPL is, amongstother things, developing techniques toimprove calibration o satellites beore theyare launched. As technical leader, I lead ourEuropean project to coordinate the activitieso a number o national metrology institutes inEurope, researching new capabilities or pre-fight, in-fight and post-launch calibration,and validation o satellite data. I alsocoordinate the eorts o the internationalspace community (optical domain) as chair o

the IVOS sub-group o Committee on EarthObservation Satellites Working group onCalibration and Validation.

At NPL, we are the independent providero quality inormation or both deliverersand users o satellite data, and our role is tounderstand it and assess quality metrics incollaboration with the wider industry. We havecalibrated satellites that are currently fying,and are providing calibrations or a number oinstruments due to fy on satellites in the next

ew years.

One o the most exciting things I am workingon now is the design and leadership o aproposed satellite mission called TRUTHS(Traceable Radiometry UnderpinningTerrestrial- and Helio- Studies). The novelmission concept provides ully SI traceablemeasurements rom orbit at uncertainties aactor ten lower than any other, sucient tomake benchmark measurements suitable orthe detection o decadal climate change. This

is based on a new standard we developed incollaboration with Swiss colleagues to replace


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One giant leap for the

UK economyAs the global space market continues to grow, the UK is in a primeposition to capitalise on the opportunity. Robert Elliott, Space Business

Development Manager at NPL, explains where the UKs strengths lie in

the space sector and considers uture growth potential.


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One giant leap or the UK economy

be sucient to secure guaranteed repeatorders rom EUMETSAT.

Navigation

Navigation presents a huge area o

opportunity or the UK, which is already aworld leader in making small satellites. SurreySatellite Technology (SSTL), or example, cutthe price o access to space by creating cost-eective small satellites, and in July 2012 wonan 80m contract to build eight satellites orthe Galileo global navigation project undedby the EU and ESA.

The European GNSS Evolution Programme(EGEP) is targeted at uture generationso European navigation satellites, oering

reduced costs and higher perormance overthe current Galileo satellite platorms. The UKis already involved in building all o the current22 satellites and there is an opportunity orurther involvement that would help maintainour competitive edge when the EU takes overull responsibility and unding in 2014.

Looking urther ahead to burgeoningtechnologies, the UK is also playing animportant role in determining the use o X-raypulsars or aster and more accurate navigation

data or spacecrat. A joint project betweenNPL and the University o Leicester exploringthis is one o a small number o its kind in theworld which will advise ESA on its technicalstrategy and whether or not it will be viableto use pulsars or deep space navigation inthe uture.

Commercial space travel

Once the stu o dreams, commercial spacetravel is set to become a reality by the end o

2013 with the rst passenger fight o VirginGalactic. The crats maiden voyage is plannedto take passengers 100 km to the very edgeo space and, although the exact timelineor this trip is yet to be nalised, it will be alandmark event.

The UK is already involved in Virgin Galacticscommercial fight plans, with SSTL lined up tooptimise payloads or the new rocket system.However, these short fights could be just thebeginning o a huge market opportunity as

the long-term benets could be on a muchwider scale.

Earth observation

Earth observation is increasingly recognisedor its importance in managing majorchallenges such as climate change andnatural disasters, and the UK has a solid role

in ESAs Earth Observation EnvelopeProgramme (EOEP).

As climate change moves up the agenda, thedemand or accurate and detailed satellite datais growing in order to help our understandingo just how ast the Earths climate is changing,and what the implications will be. Our mostreliable models rely on data acquired througha range o complex measurements, many owhich must be taken rom space, but currentmeasurement capabilities are nowhere near

sucient as yet.

Presenting a solution to this issue would bean excellent investment or the UK, not only interms o addressing climate change but alsoin business terms. NPL has put orward such asolution in the orm o its TRUTHS (TraceableRadiometry Underpinning Terrestrial- andHelio- Studies) mission. This would see asatellite launched into orbit with the abilityto make accurate traceable measurementso climate variables and to calibrate and

upgrade the perormance o other EarthObservation (EO) satellites in space, allowingor a harmonised global climate observingsystem. The project, which would be led byNPL, is under consideration by various majororganisations.

Similarly, UK industry is developing technologyto deliver long term, reliable Earth observationdata sets or the Global Monitoring o theEnvironment and Security (GMES) programme,and EU backing suggests that this project

could present promising opportunitiesor uture growth. More promising still,commercial applications or using the data islikely to spark innovation in the UK, particularlywithin the Harwell space cluster.

Another promising new endeavour in thisarea is the UK Space Agencys signicantinvestment in the Meteorological Operational(MetOp) satellite programme, which isreplacing the current satellites undamentalto the Met Oces service. The 81 million

unding announced in 2012 means the UKsrole in developing the prototype satellite will



One giant leap or the UK economy

One notable opportunity where the UK iscurrently trying to get a oothold is in theprovision o our own spaceport. Scotlandsburgeoning space sector is vying to buildthe UKs rst spaceport, which would enableus to launch more satellites and potentially

capitalise on space tourism. With ScienceMinister David Willetts having expressed hissupport or the UK to seize the advantage,this could be an area o investment in thenear uture.

Space science and exploration

The UK contribution to scientic studies inspace and the exploration and discoveryo stars and planets is staggering. UKresearch laboratories such as the Astronomy

Technology Centre delivered majorcomponents to Hubbles successor, the JamesWebb Space Telescope (JWST), which willallow us to understand how the rst stars andgalaxies were ormed.

The UK has many scientists and technologiescontributing to planetary exploration studies,including the current Mars Curiosity missionand uture studies such as ESAs ExoMarsmission. We will also be much more involvedin activities on-board the International Space

Station in uture, including a 12 millioncontribution to the European programme orLie and Physical Sciences (ELIPS).

The UK space industry is one o the nationsmost promising and astest growing sectors.Already a successul element o the worldeconomy, the industry is bursting withpotential and, with signicant governmentbacking and a sharp ocus on expanding ourexisting expertise in core areas, we are wellpositioned to capitalise on the wealth oopportunity beore us.

Case Study

NPL, together with the Satellite ApplicationsCatapult, is driving Space growth in the publicsector by establishing the National SpaceApplications Programme (NSAP), on behal othe UK Space Agency.

NSAP will act as a trusted rst port o call or adviceon space applications, rom Earth Observationto Navigation and Telecommunications. Cruciallyit will also be able to collate issues or technicalchallenges aced by the public sector in the use ospace applications. NSAP will ocus particularly onleading government to government talks to enableneutral identication o public sector requirements.NSAP will thereore have a particular role to play inthe neutral brokerage o ideas between users and

suppliers o space products and services. NSAP willtake account o related applications work happeningin the UK and internationally, and will be both fexiblein responding to user needs and aligned with UKstrategic priorities.

NPLs Bob Cockshott is the Programme Manageror NSAP. He will work with expert sector acilitatorsto allow public sector requirements to be identiedand ollowed through. Bob, who also managesthe Location and Timing Knowledge Networkor the TSB, says:

Starting up the National Space ApplicationsProgramme provides NPL and the Catapult with anexciting, timely opportunity to maximise the impactand exploitation o our satellite industry. Even inits early stages o creation, NSAP is generating alot o interest rom public sector departmentsacross Britain.


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National Physical Laboratory

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National Physical Laboratory

NPL is a world-leading centre or the development and exploitation o measurement science,technology, related standards, and best practice in a diverse range o technical areas and marketsectors. As the UKs National Measurement Institute, our capabilities underpin the UK NationalMeasurement System (NMS), ensuring consistency and traceability o measurements in supporto UK and overseas customer interests. We aim to provide world-class science and engineeringwith economic, social and environmental benets to the UK.

QueensPr

interandControllerofHMSO,

2013.

10466/4PR/1k/0613

Documents

Insights Issue 4 Space