The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) in conjunction with the US Department of Defence (DOD) initiated the first International Space Pitch Day event, the final of which was held during the Defence Space Conference in November 2020. This competition was created to enhance innovation in the aerospace sector in the UK and US and support companies and start-ups in the commercial technological development of new solutions.
There was a strong response to the competition with over 150 projects put forward to win one of the 15 available finalists’ places at the live pitch for funding during the Defence Space Conference. The prize would be joint funding of projects, up to a value of £53,000, from the MoD and DOD.
In answer to challenge question 2 in the competition: “Visualisation to help a commander in the field to understand satellite systems relevant to their operations”, Riskaware in collaboration with Telespazio UK, put forward SpaceAware, a CyberAware Resilience and CyberAware Predict platform and were declared one of the ten winners.
The SpaceAware platform is a comprehensive multi-tier battle-management visualisation tool aimed at supporting army field operations with risk and threat analysis to mission critical space assets. The tool will provide a ground commander with information on the space based assets available, the capability provided and the impact on operations should these assets be attacked or become unavailable.
This is a new and exciting way of working at operational level and an area in which there is expected to be considerable future development. Riskaware and Telespazio UK are at the forefront of this development.
Work has now began on the project to deliver a proof of concept for SpaceAware Resilience, with Telespazio UK providing the space based expertise required for the platform. Telespazio UK, in particular, will provide the project with its expertise in satellite services, ranging from telecommunications to navigation and geo-information. Initial results are expected in Q2 of 2021.
“This project is an important stepping-stone in the development of space enabled battle management tools. We are looking forward to working closely with our partners and project lead, Riskaware, to deliver a proof of concept for the SpaceAware platform”
Dr Geoff Busswell, Head of Marketing & Sales at Telespazio UK