UK Space Agency launches In-Orbit Manufacturing research competition

The UK Space Agency (UKSA) is launching a Contracts for Innovation competition to fund approximately two In-Orbit Manufacturing (IOM) Maturation Research & Development Projects. With a closing date of 27 November and an estimated value of £1.4 million, the contract ends 15 June 2027.

The competition will support the research, development and maturation of an In-Orbit Manufacturing process and associated payload.

Projects will undertake proportionate design, prototyping, analysis and testing to achieve Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4/5 by the Final Review milestone and establish a credible route to a potential future demonstration in an appropriate microgravity environment.

The IOM Maturation Projects will:

• Mature the IOM manufacturing process and associated payload to TRL 4/5 by the Final Review milestone, generating evidence against relevant performance indicators (such as quality, performance and quantity).
• Develop and compare credible routes to a future microgravity demonstration, identifying the developments required to progress towards demonstration by 2030. · Strengthen the commercial case and strategic relevance of the proposed IOM capability, including its relevance to identified customer and end-user needs.
• Generate evidence to inform future UKSA investment and procurement decisions, including a potential future IOM demonstration procurement and the associated ISAM IOD Programme Business Case

This is one of two concurrent procurements being progressed, the other being for Mission Feasibility Studies – Spacecraft Life Extension Service Demonstration.

UK Space Agency to host associated bidder engagement event at Harwell Campus

The UK Space Agency will hold an optional in-person Engagement Event covering both ISAM In-Orbit Demonstration Programme Discovery Phase competitions.

The event will provide an overview of the tender documentation and published tender requirements for both procurements and include a clarification Q&A session.

Transcriptions and any clarifications that materially affect the procurement requirements will subsequently be uploaded to the Jaggaer eSourcing Portal.

The Engagement Event will take place on 6 November 2026 at the UK Space Agency Conference Centre, Harwell Campus, OX11 0FD. Bidders may attend either the morning session (10:00-12:00) or the afternoon session (13:00-15:00).

Organisations wishing to attend must express their interest by 15:00 UK time on 4 November 2026 by emailing [email protected] with the subject line ‘IOD Discovery Phase Engagement Event’.

The email must state which session the organisation wishes to attend and provide the name and email address of the proposed attendee.