WHAT WE DO SPACE PORTFOLIO MEDIA HUB ABOUT US CAREERS CONTACT US SEARCH ABOUT US Home About Us WE HAVE BEEN BUILDING WORLD-LEADING SMALL SATELLITES FOR 40 YEARS OUR VISION STATEMENT "SSTL pioneers audacious new satellite technologies, products and services and shares its know-how to enable advancement in Space." The SSTL story is a showcase of British ingenuity, ambition and engineering expertise In the mid-1970s space was considered to be the preserve of a few super-powers and restricted to the most affluent of nations since it was extremely complex and expensive to access. The satellites launched at that time used components specially manufactured and tested to perform reliably in the harsh space environment but with only limited functions that could not be reprogrammed once in orbit. In the late 1970s, a group of researchers working at the University of Surrey, led by a young Martin Sweeting, decided to experiment by creating a satellite using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components. The idea was bold and audacious and the results were surprising. That first satellite, UoSat-1, was built in a small university lab in a cleanroom fabricated from B&Q - and with printed circuit boards designed by hand on a kitchen table. Launched in 1981 with the help of NASA UoSAT-1 was the first modern re-programmable small satellite and was a great success, outliving its planned three year life by more than five years. Most importantly, the team showed that relatively small and inexpensive "micro" satellites could be built rapidly to perform successful and sophisticated missions. In 1985 Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd was formed as a spin-out company to transfer the results of research into a commercial enterprise. The Company grew steadily and has worked with a wide range of international customers and partners, building and launching ~70 sateliltes for 22 countries over the following three decades. In 2009 Airbus bought the majority shareholding from the University of Surrey, allowing SSTL to fulfil its growth potential. SSTL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus. SSTL pioneered the design, build, test and operation of small satellites and has been a world leader in the field for over 40 years. 30 YEARS OF FIRSTS Previous First demonstration of 5G connectivity on a LEO spacecraft, LEO Vantage Phase 1, 2019 First modern microsatellite with in-orbit re-programmable computers, UoSAT-1 (1981) 1981 First modern digital store-and-forward communications payload, UoSAT-2 (1984) Next CELEBRATING OUR SUCCESS 1998: Queen's Award for Technological Achievement 2000: SSPI Industry Innovators Award 2004: World Technology Network Corporate Award for Space 2005: The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation 2006: The Royal Institute of Navigation Harold Spencer Jones Gold Meal & The Times Higher Award for Outstanding Contributions to Innovation and Technology 2007: Royal Aeronautical Society Silver Medal for TopSat 2008: ESA Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Galileo programme 2009: Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For 2012: AIAA Space Systems award for the Disaster Monitoring Constellation & Sir Arthur Clarke Project Team Award – NigeriaSat-2 2013: IET Award for Innovation - NovaSAR-1 2014: Made in the UK Aerospace and Defence Award 2016: Sir Arthur Clarke Project Team Award - Galileo navigation payloads 2017: Royal Aeronautical Society Silver Medallist - Martin Unwin, GNSS Principal Engineer 2018: British Engineering Excellence Awards - Brent Brakeboer, Young Design Engineer of the Year & International Board of Trade Award for outstanding contribution to international trade & investment 2019: Sir Arthur Clarke Project Team Award - the RemoveDEBRIS consortium & Aviation Week Network Laureate Award for Space Technology and Innovation - RemoveDEBRIS & Royal Aeronautical Society Team Bronze Award - NovaSAR-1 SIR MARTIN SWEETING 1995: OBE in Queen’s Birthday Honours List 1995: Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal 1996: Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering 2000: Election to the International Academy of Astronautics 2000: Fellowship of the Royal Society 2001: Knighthood in the Queen’s New Year Honours for services to microsatellite engineering 2001: World technology award for space 2002: Frank J Molina Astronautics Medal 2004: AAS Industrial Leadership Award 2006: Top Ten Britons Who Shaped Our World, the Independent 2008: Sir Arthur Clarke Lifetime Achievement Award 2010: The Institute of Engineering and Technology Faraday Medal 2010: The European Electronics Industry Elektra Lifetime Achievement Award 2012: International Von Karmen Wings Award from Caltech/JPL 2012: Guildford Roll of Honour 2014: Chinese Academy of Sciences/COSPAR Jeoujang Jaw Award 2015: Fellowship of the Royal Aeronautical Society 2017: Debrett's list of 500 most influential Britons 2017: IAF Distinguished Service Award 2018: Honorary Fellowship of the British Interplanetary Society SSTL IS A MEMBER OF, OR IS REPRESENTED ON, A NUMBER OF ASSOCIATIONS INCLUDING UKSPACE ADS BARSC ENTERPRISE M3 WOMEN IN AEROSPACE ABOUT US OUR LOCATIONS MANAGEMENT & OWNERSHIP CAREERS CONTACT US STATUTORY PRIVACY NOTICE COOKIES POLICY MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. 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