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ample Using supply strategy to change the economics of space exploration You don't think of space satellites as cheap items; and, of course, they aren't. They can be very expensive. And in the early days of space missions, this meant that only superpowers could afford to develop and launch them. The conventional wisdom was that space was such a hos tile environment that satellites would have to be constructed using only specially developed components that could endure the severe conditions encountered in space. Satellites there- fore would always be expensive items. Yet in the late 1970s this assumption was challenged by Sir Martin Sweeting, who then was studying for his PhD at the University of Surrey in the UK. The aerospace research team in the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Surrey had built its first satellite (called UoSAT-1) by purchasing commercial off-the-shelf components. It was about as big as two microwave ovens, weighing 72kg. By contrast, some of the huge satellites being launched by government space agencies were as large as a London double-decker bus. It was launched in 1981 with the help of NASA who had been persuaded to provide a free launch, piggybacking on the back of a mission to put a large scientific satellite into orbit. The team followed this up with a second satellite (UOSAT-2) that they built in just six months and launched in 1984. A year later Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) was formed as a spinout company from the University of Surrey to transfer the results of its research into a commercial enterprise. The firm's vision was to open up the market for space exploration by pioneering the use of small and relatively cheap, but reliable, satellites built from readily available off-the-shelf components-then a revolutionary idea. Now SSLT is the world's leading small satellite company, which has delivered space missions for a whole range of applications including Earth observation, science, communications and in-orbit technology demonstration. The company is at the forefront of space innovation, exploiting advances in technologies and challenging conventions to bring affordable space exploration to international customers. The company, which has launched over 40 satellites, is based across four sites in South East England and employs more than 500 staff. Since 2014 SSTI. has been an independent company within the Airbus Defence and space group. As the market for satellites developed, scientific and technological innovations have led to what has been called a 'democratisation' of space, with SSTL maintaining what it says is a 40 per cent share of the global export market for small affordable satellites. How has it achieved this success from such small beginnings? Well, partly because it was an early player in the market, having the vision to see that there would be a market for small satellites that could serve the ambitions of smaller countries, companies, research groups and even schools. The company said that the small satellite revolution started with SSTL. But, in addition, it has always been innovative in finding ways of keeping the cost of building the satellites down to a minimum. SSTL pioneered the low-cost, low-risk approach to delivering operational satellite missions within short development timescales and with the capability that potential custom- ers wanted. In the early 1980s, as the first microcomputers became commercially available, Sir Martin Sweeting speculated that it may be possible to use programmable technology to build small satellites that were 'intelligent' when compared with conventional large and expensive hard-wired satellites. It also would allow the satellite to be reprogrammed from the ground. Particularly important was the company's use of commercial off-the-shelf technol- ogy. Combined with a determination to learn something from each new project, a pragmatic approach to manufacture and low-cost operations, it enabled SSTL to keep costs as low as realis- tically possible. In effect, using industry standard parts meant exploiting the, often enormous, investments by consumer-electronics companies, auto part manufacturers, and others who had developed complex components for their products. Even if this sometimes limited what a satellite could do, it provided the scale economies that would be impossible if they were designing and making customised components from scratch. 'We were being parasitic, if you like', admits Sir Martin. However, not all commercially available components made for terrestrial use can cope with conditions in space, which is a hugely important issue. Reliability is essential in a satellite. (It's difficult to repair them once in space.) And even though off-the-shelf components and systems have become increasing reliable, they must be rigorously tested to make sure that they can with- stand the severe conditions found in space. One of the key problems is how components react to the high levels of radiation in space. For example, various smartphone constituents (a regular source of components) react in different ways to radiation. Knowing which bits can and cannot be used is important. Yet, although individual components and systems are often bought off- the-shelf, the company does most of its operations activities itself. This allows SSTL to provide a complete in-house design, manufacture, launch and operation service as well as a range of advice, analysis and consultancy services. What distinguishes us is our vertically integrated capability, from design and research to manufacturing and operations', says Sir Martin. 'We don't have to rely on suppliers, although of course we buy-in components when that is advantageous