The UK Space Agency has announced that a new satellite will be built by an Oxfordshire-based space tech firm to monitor climate change and natural disasters. This project, called the Atlantic Constellation, is a joint effort with Portugal and Spain to develop a group of satellites that will provide early detection of climate change indicators.
The UK Space Agency is providing £3 million for the new pathfinder satellite, which will be co-funded by Open Cosmos, based at the Harwell Space Campus in Didcot. The new satellite is expected to provide valuable and regularly updated data on the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, helping scientists detect, monitor, and reduce the risk of natural disasters.
Andrew Griffith, minister in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, said: “Earth observation will play an absolutely vital role in tackling global challenges like climate change and disaster relief. It will provide us with the data we need at speed while supporting key UK industries like agriculture and energy.” By working with Open Cosmos on a new satellite and supporting our Atlantic partners in Spain and Portugal, we can harness space technology for our shared goals while creating new skills opportunities and jobs for the future to grow the UK economy.”
The announcement was made on the opening day of the UK Space Conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
