Advancing UK Aerospace, Defence, Security & Space Solutions Worldwide
  • Home
  • /
  • Space
  • /
  • BAE Systems acquires In-Space Missions

Space

BAE Systems acquires In-Space Missions

BAE Systems has acquired In-Space Missions, a UK company that designs, builds and operates satellites and satellite systems.


    
Image courtesy BAE Systems

The acquisition will combine BAE Systems’ experience in highly secure satellite communications with In-Space Missions’ full lifecycle satellite capability, to make a compelling sovereign UK space offer.

In-Space Missions was founded in 2015 and is based in Hampshire with more than 30 employees. It specialises in offering space services for activities covering earth observation, satellite communications, navigation, and space science and exploration.
 
The company also has an innovative approach to combining satellites into a payload rideshare, allowing multiple payloads to be launched and operated together as one satellite in space. This ‘Faraday Service’ not only reduces cost and time to launch but also contributes to space sustainability by reducing the number of separate satellites.

Advertisement
Teledyne

In-Space Missions launched its first combined satellite in June, carrying six payloads for customers including Airbus, Lacuna, SatixFy and Aeternum, as well as In-Space Missions’ own Babel payload, and continues to operate them in orbit. The Faraday Service also allows for digital payloads to be uploaded to In-Space Missions’ proprietary, software defined, ultra-wideband RF platform - reducing the time to orbit for customers from years to days.
 
BAE Systems already provides space products in waveforms, electronics, antenna and digital signal processing and analytics, with 20 years’ experience in ground-based signal processing for various space agencies. In-Space Missions adds the capability to create, launch and operate complete satellites, helping to enable sovereign, secure and resilient data sharing between different platforms in sea, air, land and space.
 
Amanda Solloway, Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, said: “This acquisition is a great vote of confidence in our thriving space sector.
 
"By bringing on board the expertise of In-Space Missions, BAE Systems will help to expand the UK’s capabilities in low earth orbit satellites, creating valuable export opportunities, while keeping this country at the forefront of a new commercial space age.”
 
Ben Hudson, Chief Technology Officer at BAE Systems, said: “The UK has an opportunity to be a global player in the growing low earth orbit space market, as well as servicing its own sovereign defence and commercial needs. This acquisition will allow us to combine a range of space capabilities that help deliver information advantage, multi-domain operations and networking for our customers. We look forward to welcoming the In-Space Missions team to BAE Systems.”
 
Doug Liddle, CEO of In-Space Missions, said: “This agreement means In-Space Missions will maintain its small company culture while leveraging the tremendous scale and new opportunities offered by BAE Systems. We’re already collaborating on new highly secure satellite applications and beyond that, we’re really excited about how this agreement will underpin our growth as an ambitious, UK-owned, prime and service provider.”
 
This acquisition is part of BAE Systems’ strategy to develop breakthrough technologies, pursuing bolt-on acquisitions where they complement existing capabilities and provide an opportunity to accelerate technology development in key areas, as evidenced with recent acquisitions such as Prismatic, Techmodal and PPM Ltd.
 
 

Advertisement
Teledyne

 

Serco appoints Keith Williams as Chair

Aerospace Defence Security Space

Serco appoints Keith Williams as Chair

4 July 2025

Serco has appointed Keith Williams to the Board as a Non-Executive Director and Chair designate.

UK launches tender for space debris removal

Space

UK launches tender for space debris removal

3 July 2025

The UK Space Agency has launched a major new procurement process to tackle the growing threat of space debris, initiating a £75.6 million tender for the nation’s first mission to actively remove defunct satellites from orbit.

Boeing appoints Stephen Parker as CEO of BDS

Defence Security Space

Boeing appoints Stephen Parker as CEO of BDS

3 July 2025

Boeing has appointed Stephen (Steve) Parker as president and chief executive officer of its Defense, Space & Security (BDS) business, effective immediately.

UK students to launch international space mission

Space

UK students to launch international space mission

3 July 2025

A team of students from the University of Surrey, the University of Portsmouth and the University of Southampton are working to fit equipment they designed, made and tested to a suborbital launch vehicle which aims to launch 900km into space.

Advertisement
Gulfstream RT
Airbus-built Sentinel-4 launched onboard MTG weather satellite

Space

Airbus-built Sentinel-4 launched onboard MTG weather satellite

2 July 2025

The European Space Agency (ESA) and its partners have confirmed the successful launch of the Airbus-built Sentinel-4, a cutting-edge air quality monitoring instrument hosted on the third generation Meteosat (MTG-S1) weather satellite.

Teledyne CIS120 sensors launch on GOSAT-GW

Space

Teledyne CIS120 sensors launch on GOSAT-GW

1 July 2025

Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, a provider of advanced imaging solutions, has confirmed that two CIS120 sensors designed and manufactured by Teledyne Space Imaging will play a major part in the third in a series of Japanese climate change and Earth observation satellite missions.

Advertisement
Teledyne