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Request for information: In-Orbit Demonstration Payloads / Technologies

Department for Science, Innovation & Technology

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

PlanningUpdate

26 Aug 2026 at 11:02

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

26 Aug 2026 at 10:52

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, through the UK Space Agency, is exploring future support for in-orbit demonstration of emerging space payloads and technologies. The work would concern research and related services for spacecraft, satellites and launch vehicles, including demonstrating payloads or technologies in orbit, understanding their technical requirements, identifying barriers to market, and assessing how government intervention could help. The scope is aimed at technologies currently being developed in the UK that could benefit from in-orbit demonstration beyond ground testing. Delivery is intended to take place in the United Kingdom. The agency is also seeking industry insight to shape a future programme and expects to bring relevant organisations together for a workshop.

This procurement is at the planning stage and is currently a request for information, not an invitation to tender. The agency expects a subsequent notice by 31 March 2027, with the planned contract period running from 31 August 2027 to 31 March 2030. The stated estimated value is £1 including VAT, which appears to represent the planning-stage RFI rather than the potential value of future demonstration activity. Responses to the RFI are requested by 23:59 BST on 23 September 2026. An in-person industry workshop is planned, with the date, agenda and venue to follow; initial places will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis among organisations considered relevant. The procurement is a single lot.

This will suit UK-based space payload developers, spacecraft and satellite technology companies, research organisations and specialist engineering providers developing hardware or technologies suitable for orbital demonstration. Relevant respondents should be able to explain their payload or technology, development status, technical requirements, potential in-orbit benefits and the barriers preventing market entry. The agency is particularly seeking evidence about what ground testing cannot demonstrate, and practical views on how government support could unlock commercial opportunities. Suppliers with experience in space systems, payload integration, launch or orbital operations may be well placed to contribute. Small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community or social enterprises are identified as suitable participants. The immediate value is influencing the design of a possible future intervention rather than bidding for a contract now.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Request for information: In-Orbit Demonstration Payloads / Technologies

Notice Description

The Office of the Chief Engineer (OCE), within the Space Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Group, are a team within the UK Space Agency supporting the portfolio of projects and programmes across the wider Agency primarily through technical assurance and research & development activities. This involves investigation of potential new activities that help achieve the aims and objectives of the UK Government's space strategy. The OCE are currently investigating the need for government intervention to support in-orbit demonstration (IOD) activities for emerging payloads and technologies. This Request for Information (RFI) has been published to better develop our understanding. The UK Space Agency would like to understand from space payload and technology providers if there are any payloads/technologies that are currently being developed which would benefit from an IOD opportunity. The Agency would also like to understand the potential benefits unlocked by demonstrating the payload / technology in orbit, and the current perceived barriers experienced in bringing these payloads / technologies to market. The Agency would then like to understand if and how government are best placed to support unlocking the opportunities of bringing these payloads / technologies to market. This RFI will inform the OCE's approach to future IOD opportunities, deepen our understanding of the current pipeline of payloads and technologies being developed that would most benefit from IOD opportunities and help the Agency develop the most appropriate intervention. Our aims - what we want to achieve The aims of this Request for Information are: - To understand space payloads and technologies currently being developed in the UK which may benefit from In-Orbit Demonstration; - To understand the technical requirements of those payloads and technologies; - To understand the barriers experienced in bringing these payloads and technologies to market; - To understand the perceived opportunity unlocked by demonstrating the organisation's payload or technology in orbit that would not otherwise be realised by demonstration and validation through ground testing; - To understand how government could support addressing these barriers and unlocking future opportunities by demonstrating your payload or technology in orbit. In addition to this RFI and to further support our programmatic thought process on any potential interventions, the UK Space Agency will be hosting an in-person workshop based on the responses to this RFI as well as other related topics that we feel require industry's input. This workshop will bring together industry and enable us to gain insights from organisations whose payloads and technologies may benefit from In-Orbit Demonstration. To register your interest in attending a workshop, please complete the Organisation & Contact Information section within the RFI and mark your interest in follow-up in Question 8. Further details, including the workshop date, agenda and venue, will be provided in due course. Participants will initially be selected on a first-come-first-serve basis to organisations deemed relevant by the UK Space Agency. The outcomes of the Workshop, including any findings, recommendations, and summary outputs, will be made available to attendees and open to wider industry upon request. How the information provided will be used and treated Responses received will be used alongside wider available information to guide the UK Space Agency's considerations on future activities to support in-orbit technology demonstrations. All information provided may be considered by the UK Space Agency and other government departments for use in policy development. In providing the information requested in this document the respondent confirms that they are giving written consent that the information provided may be shared with other departments, agencies, public bodies, and subsidiaries owned by the above, and their advisors. Where information is shared within government, it will be anonymised and will not identify any specific individual or organisation who provided it. Information provided in response to this Request for Information, including personal information, may be disclosed in accordance with any applicable law (including the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004), by order of a court or as required by any body or inquiry which has the power to compel disclosure. The RFI participation process, including how to send responses, appears in the section directly after the questionnaire, below. If the respondent wants the information provided to be treated as confidential, they are asked to please inform us. No commercially sensitive information will be shared outside of government. Please be aware that we cannot guarantee confidentiality in all circumstances. For any questions about this process, please email: UKSA.commercial@dsit.gov.uk We will process any personal data included in the responses for this Request for Information in accordance with all applicable data protection laws. Our privacy notice is available in the section below titled "PRIVACY NOTICE". The information gathered will not be used beyond the stated purpose without explicit permission. RFI Terms This RFI is not related to any ongoing or future funding calls from the UK Space Agency. The UK Space Agency does not commit to cover any cost incurred in the preparation or submission of any response to the RFI. Responding or failing to respond to this RFI will not preclude the respondents from participating in any future UK Space Agency calls or requests for information or other opportunities. The deadline for responses is 23:59 BST, 23 September 2026. If more time is needed to provide a response or if there are additional questions about the process, please contact UKSA.commercial@dsit.gov.uk with "In-Orbit Demonstration Payload / Technology RFI" as the subject line. An email confirmation of receipt from the UK Space Agency will be sent within a one-week period to the designated point of contact. The UK Space Agency reserves the right to follow-up and ask clarification questions on any responses.

Planning Information

RFI questions and guidance The RFI survey is split into sections: Organisation & Contract Information Payload / Technology Information IOD Outlook, Benefits, Government Intervention Technical Privacy Notice Please complete the survey on Microsoft Forms, linked here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/U5dhEUhEPX The guidance provided also accompanies the associated question within the Microsoft Forms survey. If you require a Word version of this request for information please contact UKSA.commercial@DSIT.gov.uk In each section, please feel free to include as much relevant information as you like (responses limited to 4000 characters). All questions require a free-text response unless otherwise specified. Note that questions denoted with an asterix, *, are mandatory. Please provide answers including indications of where answers are actual or anticipated or where the information requested is currently unknown (for example subject to ongoing development). You are welcome to submit additional responses for each payload / technology of interest. In this instance, please feel free to leave questions in Section 3 blank unless there is specific feedback related to that particular payload / technology. PRIVACY NOTICE In the course of responding to this request for information, you have provided information about yourself (‘personal data’). We (the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST)) are the ‘data controller’ for this information, which means we decide how to use it and are responsible for looking after it. The type of personal information we collect We will collect and process the following personal data: Personal identifiers (name and contact details). How we will use your data We will use your data to understand the origin of your submission – see “How the information provided will be used and treated” in the RFI document for more information. The lawful basis for processing your personal data under Article 6 of the UK GDPR is: Legitimate interests. As such, we will only use your data for the purposes for which we collected it or one that is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your data for an unrelated purpose, we will seek your consent separately to use it for that new purpose. Who has access to your data? Access to your data held by BIST will be limited to staff within the department who need to view it as part of their work in carrying out the purposes described above. Your personal data will not be shared outside of the department. Where information from the responses is shared wider, it will be anonymised. Retaining your data We will retain your personal data for no longer than one year. Anonymised and non-personal data may be kept for up to four years for statistical purposes. Where we store and use your data Your personal data will be processed in the UK within secure UK government systems which use the Government Microsoft 365 environment hosted in UK-based data centres. As your personal data will be stored on our IT infrastructure it will be shared with our data processors Microsoft and Amazon Web Services and may be transferred and stored securely outside the UK. Where that is the case, it will be subject to equivalent legal protection through an adequacy decision, the use of Standard Contractual Clauses or a UK International Data Transfer Agreement. We will not make additional copies of personal data to store outside of this environment. To exercise your rights please contact the Data Protection Officer using the contact details below. How to contact us If you have any questions or concerns about our use of your personal information or are unhappy with the way we have handled your personal data, please write to the department’s Data Protection Officer in the first instance using the contact details below. DSIT Data Protection Officer, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, 22-26 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2EG. Email: dataprotection@dsit.gov.uk If you consider that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an UK independent regulator. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office Wycliffe House Water Lane Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF Helpline number: 0303 123 1113 ICO website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06ec22
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/081144-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation

73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

CPV Codes

34712000 - Spacecraft, satellites and launch vehicles

73110000 - Research services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
26 Aug 2026Today
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
31 Mar 20278 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
31 Aug 2027 - 31 Mar 2030 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1A 2EG
Postcode Area
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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