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SSTL opens ‘state of the art’ optical imaging cleanroom

Posted on 23 Jan 2025. Edited by: John Hunter. Read 533 times.
SSTL opens ‘state of the art’ optical imaging cleanroomUK Space Agency CEO Dr Paul Bate (centre) with SSTL managing director Andrew Cawthorne (left) and SSTL chairman Sir Martin Sweeting (right)

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has officially opened a new optical imaging cleanroom at its headquarters in Guildford. This cutting-edge facility will play a pivotal role in advancing the company’s capabilities in optical imaging, an essential component of its Earth observation satellite missions.

The imaging clCleanroom, now operational and home to SSTL’s highly-skilled optical payloads team, has been established with the support of a £250,000 grant awarded by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) in March 2024 under the Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund (SCIF). This funding – which SSTL matched with its own internal resources — highlights the UK Government’s ongoing commitment to strengthening the nation’s space infrastructure and fostering innovation in satellite technology.

Andrew Cawthorne, SSTL’s managing director, said: “We are immensely grateful to the UK Space Agency for its support through the Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund. The investment has enabled us to create a fantastic “state of the art’ cleanroom facility, which is now enabling our payload imaging team to continue their vital work in designing and assembling the world-class optical imagers that power SSTL’s Earth observation missions. This marks another milestone in our own mission to deliver innovative, high-performance satellite technology to our customers around the globe.”

The new cleanroom, tailored to meet the stringent environmental conditions required for developing and testing sophisticated optical imagers, will enhance SSTL’s capacity to produce leading-edge imaging solutions. Optical imagers are critical components of SSTL’s Earth observation satellites, providing the precise and reliable data essential for applications such as environmental monitoring, disaster management, and urban planning.

Dr Paul Bate, chief executive of the UK Space Agency, said: “"The opening of this new optical cleanroom at SSTL is a testament to the UK's strengths in Earth observation. This facility will play a crucial role in delivering high-performance optical imagers that support a wide range of advanced missions and applications, from monitoring floods and wildfires to delivering intelligence and reconnaissance services. Made possible through our Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund, we are building our national capabilities and developing new satellite technologies that deliver the benefits of space back to Earth.”