The UK Space Agency is providing funding to support five new satellite projects through the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ARTES (Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems) programme.
As businesses and governments increasingly depend on low Earth orbit (LEO) constellations for low-latency connectivity, the financial resilience of the space sector has a direct effect on service cost and availability.
Government analysis shows that every £1 invested in ESA generates around £7.49 in direct benefits to the UK economy. With European satellite demand projected to reach £40 billion by 2033, capturing a modest two percent share could deliver roughly £800 million in revenue for the UK.
This package of funding targets the operational costs of space-based services—not just exploration—by supporting practical technologies that extend satellite life, increase bandwidth, and simplify procurement and network management.
Space Minister Liz Lloyd said: “Space technology, especially satellites, underpins everyday life. From sat navs to mobile phones, weather forecasts to online banking—space is integral to those services.
“Backing the UK sector cements our position as a European space leader, creates high-skilled jobs, attracts investment, and ensures people and businesses can access the space-enabled services they need.”
Extending asset lifecycles through ARTES
Discarding functional satellites when they run out of propellant remains an inefficient and costly practice for users. To tackle this, the UK Space Agency is supporting Orbit Fab’s Advancing Satcom Technology with Refuelling and Logistics (ASTRAL) project.
With up to £2.9 million of UK funding and an initial £1.3 million ESA contract, the mission focuses on refuelling electric-propulsion satellites. Extending satellite operational life reduces the capital expenditure required to replenish constellations, which is directly relevant to buyers of satellite data.
ASTRAL aims to demonstrate that satellites can remain in service longer or manoeuvre away from debris using UK-developed refuelling technology. Longer-lived orbital assets could help lower data costs for enterprise customers and improve sustainability in orbit.
Integrating 5G and optical communications for global coverage
Combining terrestrial 5G with satellite infrastructure offers a route to ubiquitous connectivity, which is critical for operators of distributed networks. Vicinity Technologies has secured £1.19 million to develop a 5G Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) regenerative payload system.
The project will design the full software stack for both space and ground segments, supporting scalable internet services that span smart cities to remote regions and help maintain continuous connectivity for logistics and monitoring applications.
At the same time, Archangel Lightworks has been awarded £356,000 to deliver the Space Optical Link Integration Study (SOLIS). Delivered under ESA’s Sunrise programme, SOLIS explores Free Space Optical Communications—effectively fibre optics without cables—within a LEO satellite network. Optical links address bandwidth constraints and enable the high data throughput enterprise applications require without overloading radio-frequency channels.
Together these projects move towards seamless integration of 5G and satellite networks, a capability that strengthens IoT deployments and logistics operations in remote areas.
Procuring satellite capacity can be a governance challenge for both public and private organisations. Inmarsat Navigation Ventures Ltd (Viasat UK) will receive £881,000 for the International Virtual Satellite Operators Network (Phase 2) project.
This European initiative aims to create tools that enable governments and large organisations to plan, procure, and monitor satellite communications across multiple providers. By standardising procurement and management of virtual satellite networks, the project seeks to simplify governance and ensure coherent control over communications channels.
On the ground-infrastructure side, Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall leads the AGILE project with £1.6 million in funding to develop an interface unit compliant with the LunaNet specification. While initially focused on lunar missions, adopting standardised ground-to-space interfaces improves interoperability and can support future commercial deep-space activity.
Dr Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, said: “Today’s investment demonstrates how the UK’s space ambitions deliver tangible results. By advancing satellite communications technology, we are building a globally competitive sector and ensuring that communities—even in the most remote parts of the UK—can access essential services.
“This is space delivering for people and powering our future economy.”
UK boosts trajectory of European satellite projects
The announcement comes ahead of the ESA Ministerial Council in Bremen on 26–27 November, where the UK government will negotiate future investment in European space initiatives. To support national programmes and ESA membership, the government has allocated the UK Space Agency a budget of £2.8 billion through 2029/30.
Laurent Jaffart, Director of ESA’s Connectivity and Secure Communications, commented: “ESA is committed to supporting a vibrant European telecommunications ecosystem while working toward a zero-debris environment in space.
“This milestone, backed by the UK Space Agency, will strengthen European autonomy and sovereignty that we are collectively pursuing with Member States.”
The maturation of the UK space sector stabilises the telecoms market and positions the UK as a leading supplier of advanced telecommunications solutions within a European market projected at £40 billion.
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