Airbus UK Unveils Space Accelerator Program

Airbus has recently announced the selection of its inaugural cohort of ten UK companies to participate in its space accelerator program. This initiative, managed by Plexal, aims to foster innovation in the space industry by supporting companies working on cutting-edge technologies such as quantum, RISC-V, and electric thrusters.

The Airbus Space Accelerator is open to a wide range of participants, including existing space companies as well as businesses with the ambition and potential to venture into the space sector. Over the course of 14 weeks, the selected companies will have the opportunity to advance their products towards the minimum viable product (MVP) stage and leverage Airbus Defence and Space's extensive space heritage and technical expertise.

Among the first cohort of companies are Angoka, based in Belfast, specializing in cyber security for smart systems; D-RisQ, located in Malvern, focusing on aerospace control software development; and Aquark Technologies, based in Southampton, working on quantum systems for cold matter.

In addition to these companies, Aquark Technologies, a quantum startup, recently secured a £3.4 million contract from Innovate UK to develop a high-performance cold atom clock, which is set to become the first commercially available in the UK.

Commenting on the selection, Nick Tudor, Co-Founder and CEO of D-RisQ, expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity to collaborate with Airbus and Plexal in evolving their business to meet the demands of the space sector. He highlighted the value that their automatic verification tools can bring to the industry, emphasizing the potential to accelerate access to space for the UK space supply chain and beyond.