Contracts for Innovation: UK Space Agency Unlocking Space for Defence (USD) and National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) BOREALIS Resident Space Object (RSO) Characterisation Development
Department for Science, Innovation & Technology · up to £625,000
This tender has closed (deadline was 4 September 2026). Similar contracts are published all the time: see the live it & digital services tenders or get alerts so you hear the day the next one lands.
What the buyer wants
UK Space Agency’s Unlocking Space for Defence (USD) and the National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) are offering funding to eligible organisations. It is anticipated that between three and five contracts will be awarded, each valued between £120,000 and £250,000 (inclusive of VAT), to eligible organisations to apply, to research and develop initial proof of concepts for characterisation of resident space objects and similar solutions that directly improve the quality of data being ingested within the BOREALIS system, contributing to enhanced characterisation analysis capabilities within NSpOC.
This funding is from the UK Space Agency only and applicants should note this competition is wholly run and administered by the UK Space Agency.
Applicants should note that as BOREALIS is a sovereign UK capability and this work is to develop solutions that eventually can be deployed into use, this competition is restricted to UK registered companies on grounds of national security. For the avoidance of doubt, this can include UK-registered universities.
Full details are provided in the attached Competition Brief.
This notice relates to the intended procurement for a contract which is an exempted contract under s 3(6) and Schedule 2, Part 2 (Subject-matter exempted contracts), paragraph 22 (Research and Development Services) of the Procurement Act 2023 (the 'Act'). Exempted contracts are not a public contract as defined in s3 of the Act and therefore are not required to be procured in accordance with the provisions of the Act that relate to a covered procurement.
Key facts
- Buyer: Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
- Estimated value: up to £625,000
- Deadline was: 4 September 2026
- Published on: Find a Tender
- First seen by Tenderoo: 17 September 2026
- CPV: 72212100
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