NI SPACE

22/05/2026

𝗡𝗜 𝗦𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗘 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗á𝗶𝗹

This week, our NI SPACE Cluster Manager Robert Hill attended a meeting at the Dáil in Dublin, to discuss shared island opportunities in the space sector.

Robert joined industry colleagues, Nick Laird from Shorts, a Boeing Company, Cormac Devlin TD and Alex Burghart MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for discussions on how space can support public sector transformation and strengthen cross-border ESA activity.

Thank you to Frank Shivers from Anglo-Irish Friendship for coordinating the meeting, and to Cormac Devlin TD and Minister Frank Feighan for the warm welcome and productive discussions.

🌐https://nispace.org/

13/05/2026

Our Education Manager, David Fearon, was delighted to meet with Ruairí McHugh, the Mayor of Derry City & Strabane District, this week to discuss NI SPACE’s work to inspire the next generation of talent for the local space industry.

Enjoyed meeting with David Fearon Education Manager of NI Space to discuss the array of opportunities in the space industry here. 🔭🪐

David presents an interactive 3D show on space & the universe.

wants to inspire future generations into a pipeline of talent for local industry. 👏

11/05/2026

𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗜𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱

Building on Northern Ireland’s strong advanced manufacturing and engineering base, initiatives like the recent 𝗡𝗜 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 are unlocking new pathways into the global space market. Brendan McGuigan, Director of Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering, Invest Northern Ireland, commented:

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘐 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦: 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘕𝘐 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘕𝘐, 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘜𝘒 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘈𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘕𝘐 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮.

“𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.”

If you are interested in finding out more about the space sector in Northern Ireland, visit: https://nispace.org/

UK Space Agency, ADS Group Ltd, Invest Northern Ireland, Queen's University Belfast, Matrix, The Northern Ireland Science Industry Panel, British Interplanetary Society, Stem Ambassadors Northern Ireland, STEM Learning UK, Space Professionals Partnership Ltd, Irish Space Association, ESA - European Space Agency

07/05/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵’𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻 Craxel Inc. 𝗮 𝗨𝗦 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗜𝗧 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝘂𝗯 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁.

Today’s digital landscape is defined by unprecedented data challenges. Organisations are struggling to deal with huge volumes of data, complex AI workloads and there is a growing need for real time insights. Craxel is helping organisations in the space industry to unlock the full value of their data for faster insights and smarter decision making.

Craxel’s patented Black Forest™ platform is redefining how complex, high volume data is processed at speed and scale. Enabling large organisations and government agencies to organise and query multidimensional datasets in real time, the platform delivers capabilities that are increasingly vital to the modern space industry. From satellite operations and Earth observation to space traffic management, the ability to analyse complex data is transforming how we understand and interact with space.

The Craxel team are space experts with an in-depth knowledge in SSA and EO analytics, and they have built the Black Forest™ platform so that space organisations can turn distributed, sensitive data into secure, mission ready insights.

The Black Forest’s knowledge infrastructure keeps data sovereign while making it searchable, connected and usable at operational speed, supporting use cases across Space Domain Awareness, Space Situational Awareness and coalition data sharing. By combining graph native analytics, fine grained security, and scalable search across large datasets, the platform is helping the sector move faster from data to decision without compromising control or trust.

Robert Hill, Cluster Manager at NI SPACE commented, “𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗜𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝘅𝗲𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.”

As the space ecosystem continues to grow, collaboration between data innovators like Craxel and the wider space community will be key to unlocking new opportunities, driving economic growth, advancing research and strengthening our role in the global space sector.

For further information about Craxel, visit: https://www.craxel.com/

29/04/2026

📣 𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽!

The 𝗦𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗞 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆 is now live and your input is crucial.

🔗 https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/sizeandhealth2025/

If your organisation works in space in any way, this is your chance to shape the future of the UK space sector.

🛰️ 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁?
Your responses help inform real decisions on funding, policy and support across the industry. From investment and employment to growth opportunities, the data that you provide is what makes the case for space in the UK.

⏱️ 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆
✔ Just 7 questions
✔ Takes around 10 minutes
✔ Even partial answers make a difference

🔒 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲
All responses are treated in strict confidence and only used in anonymised, aggregated form.

📊 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂?
Participants receive exclusive access to summary report data and insights.

📢 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆
Help ensure the UK space sector gets the recognition and support it deserves.

👉 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁

🔗 https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/sizeandhealth2025/

24/04/2026

🚨 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 - 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗞𝗦𝗔 𝗟𝗘𝗢 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲!

LEO is a four month accelerator programme for early stage space ventures wanting to progress from early validation through to real commercial growth.

Whether you’re shaping an initial idea, refining your business model, or building market traction, LEO gives founders the support they need to take the next big step.

𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺:
🔹Direct access to experts in space, business growth, legal, IP, and operations
🔹Tailored 1:1 mentoring and strategic guidance
🔹 A structured pathway to accelerate your venture’s progress

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆: https://www.ukspaceaccelerator.co.uk/leo

➡️ Applications close on 𝟭𝟳 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

UK Space Agency, Invest Northern Ireland

17/04/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗖 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗿, 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁.

NI SPACE was proud to host yesterday's engagement with a delegation from Gdańsk with colleagues from across Northern Ireland's space ecosystem.

The Gdańsk team brought real energy and ambition with a strong focus on space, and smart city innovation shaped by growing collaboration across NATO and European Space Agency - ESA. It made for a genuinely valuable exchange.

The connections between our two regions in advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity and innovation are hard to ignore.

🛰️ We're excited about what could come next.

UK Space Agency, Queen's University Belfast, ESA - European Space Agency, Stem Ambassadors Northern Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland

13/04/2026

📣 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲 - 𝟭𝟬 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

We’re pleased to announce a free-to-attend event taking place in 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 on the 𝟭𝟬 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, bringing together the public sector, industry, and investment communities from across Northern Ireland and beyond.

📍𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 will explore how space enabled technologies can support more resilient and cost effective public services.

💡 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲:

🔹How the public sector can better utilise space technologies
🔹How industry can respond with innovative capabilities and IP solutions
🔹How collaboration can unlock new investment opportunities

As well as regional stakeholders, we will be joined by government leaders, directors and representatives from space offices and institutions from across the European Eurisy network (eurisy.org) to discuss these important topics.

📅 More details will be shared over the coming weeks, but for now, make sure to 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿 and 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁!

👉 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScCkZ0D4kYWtenL_W1F6gMHEY38C92YshkgAXMClc9LNjKREg/viewform

Spaces are limited, so please register early and help us spread the word by sharing with your networks and communities.

01/04/2026

🚀 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵’𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗢𝗞𝗔

This month we’re highlighting the work of Angoka, a Belfast based cyber security company protecting the integrity of machine-to-machine communications across some of the world’s most critical sectors.

Founded in 2017, Angoka specialises in endpoint data security, ensuring that information transmitted between devices is from a trusted and secure source.

Their work supports secure communications across complex supply chains and infrastructure, aligning closely with the evolving needs of the global space industry.

Their product solutions include:

🔵 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (𝗠𝗜𝗠): offering next generation identity management for every machine, device or workload across digital infrastructures.

🔵 𝗭𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (𝗭𝗧𝗠): simplifies, automates, streamlines and decentralises the operational complexity of machine identity, key management and access control management.

🔵 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗔): allows organisations to better understand the threats and risks to their digital infrastructure and business domain.

In a recent space project, the Angoka team delivered a prototype of a 5G and SatCom enabled device that provides UAVs with electronic conspicuity and communication security, including unforgeable ID, device and message authentication and encryption.

Proud to have Angoka as part of the NI SPACE community Robert Hill, NI SPACE Cluster Manager commented,

“𝘊𝘺𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢 ‘𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦,’ 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭. 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘬𝘢’𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘜𝘈𝘝 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘵, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘐𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘜𝘒 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮.”

As Northern Ireland’s space and advanced engineering ecosystem continues to grow, companies like Angoka demonstrate the region’s strength in high value, globally competitive technology innovation.

23/03/2026

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗚𝗦𝗧𝗣 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

The UK Space Agency recently opened applications for local businesses to apply for a share of up to £14.7 million in funding through the European Space Agency’s General Support Technology Programme.

This call gives UK businesses, including NI SPACE members, an opportunity to develop new space technologies from early stage research through to flight ready demonstration.

Offering a strong route to engage nationally through an established programme, we’re delighted to share this opportunity with our community and would encourage our members to review the guidance and consider how this funding could support future projects.

🔗For details on available funding and how to apply, visit the guidance page here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/general-support-technology-programme-gstp

🔗Read the Agency press release here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/14-million-funding-boost-to-power-uk-space-technology-innovation