STC members have also raved about the organisation’s space business networking event which has drawn praise too from some major players in the sector in the UK (see separate article).

Members were each given time to pitch their businesses and network openly with representatives from the likes of the UK Space Agency, Satellite Applications Catapult and Airbus during the event at Silverstone Circuit.

Amongst the STC’s business members to speak were The Structural Battery Company, CAE Tech and The Open University.

The former’s founder director Oliver Burstall said: “This event has definitely been of value to us – we came into the event unsure whether we could add value to space customers based on an offering previously offered into automotive, marine and aerospace sectors.

“However, we have had a positive reception from the government agencies present as well as people looking to use on-the-ground products.

“Undoubtedly we now are now looking potentially at some grant funding and new customers because of today.”

CAE Tech MD Peter Harman enthused: “We’d like to learn if there are satellite applications for some of the software we’re developing and this has been a good example of the cross-collaboration opportunities that we get as being a member of the STC.”

Mahesh Anand, Professor of Planetary Science & Exploration at The Open University, continued: “We have a long history in space exploration and helping to tackle scientific challenges across the solar system.

“However, this event has still enabled us to learn and also discover areas of mutual interest with some of the businesses in the room – particularly when it comes to some of the scientific questions we would like to address but which require certain types of technology.

“The OU with the universities of Cranfield, Oxford and Cambridge are collaborating and looking to interact with private enterprises which might be located in our geographical arc – if they feed into our strategy then we would be happy to work with them.”

Beyond Math, CCR Forming, Digital Manufacturing Centre, Hexagon Metrology, Jaltek, KWSP, Laser Lines, NS85, Silverstone Composites, Titan and Wirth Research also made pitches during the event.

By Carl McKellar