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PS25128: UKSAC25_0044 - Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) 2025-26 Studies

UK SPACE AGENCY

This public procurement record has 7 releases in its history.

ContractTermination

24 Feb 2026 at 21:49

UK11 - Contract Termination Notice
Award

24 Feb 2026 at 21:46

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

16 Sep 2025 at 11:21

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
TenderUpdate

22 Jul 2025 at 12:53

UK4 - Tender Notice
Tender

18 Jul 2025 at 13:22

UK4 - Tender Notice
PlanningUpdate

12 Jun 2025 at 09:04

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Planning

27 May 2025 at 15:56

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The UK Space Agency (UKSA) is actively engaged in the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) for the 2025-26 studies. As a central government public authority situated at Harwell Campus, Didcot, UKSA aims to advance research on space debris through partnerships with multiple suppliers. The tender process is currently at the contracting phase following commencement from planning and tender stages. The procurement is divided into four technical lots, each addressing distinct study areas such as measurements, environment and database, protection, and mitigation of space debris. An important deadline is the final contract completion by 31st March 2026, with current contracts like "Critical Space Debris Threshold - Fragmentation" recently experiencing termination due to key staff removal. Interested parties must utilise the Jaggaer eSourcing Portal for bid submission, with evaluations aligning to Public Procurement Regulations under an open procedure.

This tender represents a robust opportunity for businesses, particularly those within research and consultancy services, to collaborate with one of the UK's preeminent space organisations. Companies specialising in research and development services, particularly in dealing with space debris and related consultancy, will find valuable prospects to apply their expertise. The procurement process is accessible to SMEs and larger entities, providing varied opportunities across multiple contracts and studies. Successful bidders could significantly enhance their profile and expand their research capabilities by contributing to influential international space sustainability efforts. The partnership with UKSA underscores a strategic engagement with global space policies and sustainability practices, presenting long-term benefits beyond mere contract execution.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

PS25128: UKSAC25_0044 - Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) 2025-26 Studies

Notice Description

The final date and time for the submission of bids is Monday 11th August 2025 at 14:00hrs DO NOT apply directly to the buyer. All tender information MUST be submitted through the Jaggaer eSourcing Portal. Brief Description of Requirement The Office of the Chief Engineer (OCE) within the UK Space Agency is intending to procure delivery partners across different studies to feed into on-going research at the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC). The funding for the research associated with the IADC fits into a broader set of activities on Space Sustainability being led by UKSA and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) space directorate. The IADC consists of 13-member space agencies that perform technical research to inform key outputs which provide insights on how to mitigate the impact of space debris impact on the environment. The research performed by the IADC is split across four workings groups - measurements, environment and database protection and mitigation - and the research studies sought within this procurement will support on-going research across these working groups. The UK delegation to IADC is led by UKSA and is composed of cross-Government experts including representatives from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spaceflight regulator alongside members of academia. The UK delegation does not directly have participation of industry to ensure that the research performed remains impartial. However, industry groups are not precluded from bidding for the work described in this specification the work though will be presented as UK delegation inputs. Outside of this procurement the UKSA is seeking to review the state of UK research into space debris by academic entities. Within this procurement UKSA is seeking suppliers to perform technical studies of relevance to the four IADC working groups. We will require the supplier to fulfil the specification, including defining framework/model where needed and putting theoretical metrics into practice. This requirement is split into four lots, each related to a different technical area. Some lots contain multiple studies. Please ensure you review all attached information to ensure a full understanding of this requirement. All attachments can be found with the Supplier Attachments tab within the Jaggaer eSourcing Portal. This contract will be awarded based on the evaluation criteria as set out in the RFP document. How to Apply UK Shared Business Services Ltd (UKSBS) will be using the Jaggaer eSourcing Portal for this procurement. To register on the Jaggaer eSourcing portal please use the link https://beisgroup.ukp.app.jaggaer.com/ and follow the instructions to register as a supplier. If you are already registered on the Jaggaer eSourcing Portal and wish to participate in this procurement, please use the link: https://beisgroup.ukp.app.jaggaer.com/. Once you are logged into the system you will be able to locate the Procurement you wish to leave a bid on by clicking the ITTs Open to All Suppliers and searching for the reference number PS25128 and Jaggaer ITT reference number ITT_2212.

Lot Information

Lot 1. Measurements

This lot contains one study, though UKSA reserves the right to award multiple variants to multiple bidders in the event sufficient high quality bids are received: Lot 1.1: Analysis of the data from EISCAT Beampark Campaign Total Contract Value: Up to PS25,000 (inclusive of VAT) Total Contract Duration: 6 months Characterisation of the Small Debris Space Environment remains an ongoing critical challenge for addressing space sustainability. NSpOC has previously funded a 24 hour beampark campaign using the EISCAT UHF radar system with the raw data analysed through an ESA contract. At the recent IADC, it was discussed that shorter follow up beamparks targeting specific fragmentation events would also be very beneficial. As a result of this, NSpOC has arranged for a further 24 hours of time but split up over 6 x 4 hr sessions targeting the recent CZ-6A fragmentation. The campaigns target 200-2000 km with a 75E pointing direction. We require a supplier to analyse the raw data to pull out detections and use the circular orbit assumption to extract an orbital inclination and altitude and make an assessment of object size based on the signal strength.

Options: UKSA has set out a number of different studies within lots 2, 3 and 4, which may not all be taken forward. UKSA will set out in its specification how it will decide which of the options will be awarded.

Lot 2. Environment and Database

Lot 2: Environment and Database - This lot contains three studies. Bidders may bid for and be awarded one or more studies within Lot 2. For the avoidance of doubt, it is not necessary to bid for all three studies to be eligible to participate. UKSA reserves the right to award multiple contracts in the event of budget availability and sufficient high-quality proposals. The scope of Working Group 2 (Environment and Database) is the characterisation and modelling of meteoroid and debris around the Earth and storage and access of the data by electronic means, including meteoroid and debris models, short and long-term evolution, collision prediction and risk assessment. 1. Lot 2.1: Assess the utility of existing metrics and develop new metrics for space environment Total Contract Value: Up to PS50,000 (inclusive of VAT) Total Contract Duration: 6 months Various metrics have been proposed to understand the status of the space environment. Some of these focus individual missions and can be aggregated across all objects to quantify the entire environment, and some measure underlying properties of the environment. Further work is required to develop metrics that can be used to look at the environment as a whole. 2. Lot 2.2: Develop software and tools to assess the environment Total Contract Value: Up to PS50,000 (inclusive of VAT) Total Contract Duration: 6 months The UK wants to establish further capability to model the long-term evolution of the space environment and contribute to international efforts to understand safety and sustainability in the space environment. 3. Lot 2.3: Timelines for End of Life (EOL) disposal Total Contract Value: Up to PS50,000 (inclusive of VAT) Total Contract Duration: 6 months A quantitative assessment of risk and approaches to orbit design is desired which seeks to establish principles which minimise risk and improve sustainability of the missions. The outputs of the study should be used to suggest potential end-of-life mission design principles which improve sustainability while minimising risk to operator systems operating in the environment.

Options: UKSA has set out a number of different studies within lots 2, 3 and 4, which may not all be taken forward. UKSA will set out in its specification how it will decide which of the options will be awarded.

Lot 3. Protection

Lot 3: This lot contains two studies. Bidders may bid for and be awarded one or more studies within Lot 3. For the avoidance of doubt, it is not necessary to bid for both studies to be eligible to participate. UKSA reserves the right to award multiple contracts in the event of budget availability and sufficient high-quality proposals. The scope of Working Group 3 (Protection) comprises the design and technology of shielding against meteoroids and space debris and the associated test methods which include test facility and procedure, hypervelocity impact data and simulation software. 1. Lot 3.1: Critical Space Debris Threshold - Vulnerability Total Contract Value: Up to PS25,000 (inclusive of VAT) Total Contract Duration: 6 months The likelihood of spacecraft failure presented in national and international space debris mitigation standards requirements is based on the size of space debris that will be encountered during the mission. Spacecraft failure is quantified in terms of the probability of loss of collision avoidance manoeuvre capability or the probability of loss of post mission disposal capability. However, a thorough understanding of the relationship between space debris size and probability of spacecraft failure is currently lacking. Working Group 3 within the IADC is now addressing this topic via a dedicated study to develop impact vulnerability-based thresholds that can be used in the future as simplified metrics. 2. Lot 3.2: Critical Space Debris Threshold - Fragmentation Total Contract Value: Up to PS50,000 (inclusive of VAT) Total Contract Duration: 6 months The likelihood of catastrophic break-up of spacecraft due to a space debris impact presented in national and international space debris mitigation standards is based on assumptions on the size or energy of the space debris involved in the impact. In practice, the employed definition of "catastrophic" to justify the "critical" threshold of the space debris involved is often qualitative and limited by the availability of the state-of-the-art research. Working Group 3 within the IADC is now addressing this topic by initiating a study to characterise fragments released in hypervelocity collisions that can be used in future for deriving fragmentation severity.

Options: UKSA has set out a number of different studies within lots 2, 3 and 4, which may not all be taken forward. UKSA will set out in its specification how it will decide which of the options will be awarded.

Lot 4. Mitigation

Lot 4: This lot contains two studies. Bidders may bid for and be awarded one or more studies within Lot 4. For the avoidance of doubt, it is not necessary to bid for both studies to be eligible to participate. UKSA reserves the right to award multiple contracts in the event of budget availability and sufficient high-quality proposals. To support on-going research support is sought on the following: 1. Lot 4.1: Lunar Debris Mitigation Guidelines - further work on disposal options Total Contract Value: Up to PS25,000 (inclusive of VAT) Total Contract Duration: 6 months The UK Space Agency is keen to support efforts to develop recommendations for the sustainable use of Cislunar space. This study will seek to identify key research gaps and further develop the work carried out in the previous studies to feed directly into the IADC Working Group and other international forums (UN COPUOS and Artemis Accords). The outputs of this study may also be used by the UK Space Agency and wider UK Government to inform new regulatory policy for future UK-licensed lunar missions. 2. Lot 4.2: Assessment of technologies driving post-mission disposal reliability Total Contract Value: Up to PS25,000 (inclusive of VAT) Total Contract Duration: 6 months Investigate the technologies that underpin reliable post-mission disposal operations, considering those that achieve compliance to one or more of the post-mission disposal guidelines within the IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines. Develop and populate a catalogue to capture key information on each technology and critically evaluate the most promising solutions across cases for single-spacecraft missions and large constellations.

Options: UKSA has set out a number of different studies within lots 2, 3 and 4, which may not all be taken forward. UKSA will set out in its specification how it will decide which of the options will be awarded.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-052741
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/016689-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK11 - Contract Termination Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Large, SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

CPV Codes

73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

73200000 - Research and development consultancy services

73210000 - Research consultancy services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£500,000 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
£500,000 £500K-£1M
Awards Value
£345,257 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
£354,074 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
24 Feb 20267 months ago
Submission Deadline
11 Aug 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
17 Jul 2025Expired
Award Date
15 Sep 20251 years ago
Contract Period
10 Nov 2025 - 31 Mar 2026 1-6 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active, Pending
Contracts Status
Active, Terminated

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
UK SPACE AGENCY
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
DIDCOT
Postcode
OX11 0DF
Postcode Area
Oxford
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ14 Oxfordshire CC
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Vale of White Horse
Electoral Ward
Hendreds
Westminster Constituency
Didcot and Wantage

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
7
Supplier Names

Digantara Research and Technologies Private Limited

University of Birmingham

University of Strathclyde

SpaceROC Ltd

Aerospace Corporation UK Limited

Brunel University of London

Space Professionals Partnership Ltd

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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