The UK Space Agency, in partnership with Entrepreneurial Spark, and Exotopic, will be running two new LEO (Low Earth Orbit) and GEO (Geostationary Orbit) accelerator programmes.

Already a leading accelerator in the UK space startup ecosystem, the UK Space Agency Accelerator will continue to support the next generation of space organisations through these new programmes. 

The LEO programme has 20 fully funded places available, and is designed for entrepreneurs who have established business traction and customers in the space sector or entrepreneurs using space technology. This accelerator will seek to deepen their understanding of the industry and guide them to navigate business through change. 

According to a report by UKspace, the UK is capable of securing 25% of the global satellite in orbit servicing and manufacturing market, which is estimated to be worth £11 billion by 2031.

While LEOs are not a new invention, their presence in space applications are growing increasingly popular, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 30.8% until 2026. 

Working in tandem, the GEO programme has five fully funded positions, and will support ambitious entrepreneurs on their way to becoming leaders, encouraging them to focus on bringing higher impact to their business. It will eye businesses with either £500k+ in funding or £500k annualised revenue.

“It is vital that we continue to support the most ambitious talent creating space-based solutions to global problems, who also catalyse investment into the sector, and work to keep the UK at the forefront of this thriving industry,” said Craig Brown, director of investment at the UK Space Agency.

The UK Space Agency Accelerator is actively encouraging more female entrepreneurs to apply to the program. The latest Space Census conducted in 2020 by Space Skills Alliance showed that women made up only 29% of the space workforce.

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“There has been a lot of good work done in recent years to attract more women into the space sector, but we still receive fewer applications from female founders. We are committed to taking an inclusive approach by reaching out to entrepreneurs with space-applicable technologies across all sorts of business areas, to explore the space sector as a potential market,” said Portia Bircher, local growth manager at the UK Space Agency Accelerator.

With a robust support infrastructure designed to accelerate entrepreneurs, participants will benefit from the guidance of industry experts through the accelerator’s wide network of partners, including Frazer-Nash Consultancy, Alden Legal, Know.Space, and Satellite Finance Network. 

Applications to the accelerator programmes are now open and will remain open until the 1st of December. The programme will start on the 24 of January. 

The UK Space Agency also signed an agreement today the 25th of October with Houston-based Axiom Space to pursue a UK astronaut mission. The flight would have the astronauts launch to space for up to two weeks to carry out scientific research.

“The prospect of a historic UK mission with Axiom Space has the potential to inspire a whole new generation to reach for the stars, while supporting our efforts to build one of the most innovative and attractive space economies in the world, so I look forward to seeing the next stage of this exploratory work develop,” said George Freeman MP, minister of state at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

“We want to put the UK at the forefront of the global race for commercial space investment, continue to support scientists and engineers to test new technologies and carry out important research and, ultimately, bring the benefits back to people and businesses across the country.”