How a Surrey firm disrupted the satellite industry

Surrey Satellite Technology Limited has built more than 70 small satellites across four decades

Some of the satellites that monitor earth, enable GPS and drive space exploration forward are built in Surrey.

Nestled in a research park in Guildford is Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), where more than 70 small satellites have been built across four decades.

Satellites are used to relay communication, for weather forecasting and GPS navigation, as well as observing the earth.

Sophie Bywater says that SSTL began in 1981 as the brainchild of company founder Sir Martin Sweeting, who at that point was a professor at the University of Surrey.

"[He] got a really good idea that he could use commercial parts to launch small satellites and really disturb the whole classic satellite industry," she told Secret Surrey.

Sir Martin says he was encouraged to pursue his original idea when he joined the university as a student in 1970.

He said: "It was a brand new university. There was no history, there was no baggage.

"So when I said, 'I'd like to build a small satellite here', the staff and the technicians said, 'why not?'"

Fast forward to 1981 and SSTL was born.

The years since have been punctuated by momentous achievements for the pioneering company.

SSTL's first satellite, UoSat-1, exceeded its planned lifespan by five years after being built with Nasa's help.

The company also built the first Galileo satellite, Europe's global navigation satellite system which provides accurate and reliable positioning, navigation and timing services.

As part of its global reach efforts, SSTL has delivered satellites to 22 countries.

Ms Bywater says the company's work has allowed "space to become accessible to many, many different countries, and indeed people".

Jon Hall and Kai Berry from SSTL are working on building a satellite at the Guildford site

At the company's manufacturing site there are currently eight crafts going through six assembly bays.

They will serve a range of customers, according to Sir Martin.

He said: "We have commercial users who have a satellite which they're going to use to create knowledge which they're then going to sell in some way.

"We have developing space nations who want to take their first steps into space but at an affordable level, and we have some institutions like ESA [European Space Agency] and Nasa where we've flown experiments for them, very quickly and at low cost."

With over 40 years in operation, Ms Bywater says SSTL has been "fundamental" in shaping both the UK and global space industry.

"We have trained many of the UK space agencies which have since formed... globally, we've worked with many government institutions and companies that have since been able to set up their own space departments," she said.

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