University of Strathclyde Awarded UK Space Agency Funding

The University of Strathclyde has been awarded funding from the UK Space Agency to develop AI technologies that will enhance space safety and sustainability.

The money was awarded under the first phase of the UK Space Agency’s £20 million International Bilateral Fund investments, which is aimed at helping British organisations link up with the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, India, Singapore, South Africa and more to form collaborations that will progress space research and catalyse investment in new technologies.

The International Bilateral Fund is the Agency’s first fund dedicated to building and strengthening international relationships to help advance the UK’s goals in space. Strathclyde is one of only two Scottish universities and 32 projects to secure a share of the initial £2.1 million available from a total of 125 applications.

The ultimate goal of the AI for Space Safety and Sustainability project is to set up an International Institute on AI for Space Safety and Sustainability that will accelerate the development of AI technologies from concept, at early technology readiness levels, to adoption in the space sector.

Strathclyde will work with others including Arizona University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Waterloo and Canadian company Columbiad Launch Services Inc to lay the foundations of such an Institute.

Professor Massimiliano Vasile, Professor of Space Systems Engineering and Director of the Aerospace Centre of Excellence, in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Strathclyde, said:

This project builds on the international profile of the Aerospace Centre of Excellence and our unique capabilities in AI and Space Sustainability. It will position Strathclyde and the UK at the forefront of these fast-growing emerging areas with the potential to radically change the space sector. 

The Aerospace Centre of Excellence at Strathclyde develops frontier research on innovative concepts and solutions for present and future space systems, aerospace transport, space exploration, satellite applications and the sustainable exploitation and exploration of space.