Craft Prospect and SSTL sign new Teaming Agreement

Craft Prospect Ltd and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) have signed a new Teaming Agreement, formalising and expanding the close working relationship developed between our two companies over years of collaborating and working adjacently to one another within the space industry. Craft Prospect’s experience delivering secure enabling products and applications for space missions is complemented by SSTL’s expertise in manufacturing space and ground infrastructure for operational satellite systems, as well as related services including comprehensive training in support of commercial and government

end-users.

The agreement comes after a period of particularly successful collaboration between the two companies under the ESA-funded InCubed project, Flexible and Intelligent Payload Data Chain (FIPC), which brought Craft Prospect’s machine learning (ML) expertise and AI-powered Astral Intelligence Toolbox (AITB) together with an onboard software-defined data processing architecture and adaptive downlink chain developed by SSTL. Applications for this project include imaged land classification, data calibration, and cloud detection and masking.

The Teaming Agreement was kicked off on 17th June at SSTL headquarters at Tycho House in Guildford. Craft Prospect’s Head of Commercial Hina Kahn, AI Lead Lucy Donnell, and AI Software Engineer Luis Sanchez travelled down to Surrey to meet with SSTL’s Head of Innovation, Research & Development Robert Elliott, Digital Design Engineer Rebecca L Davidson, and the wider SSTL team to provide a live demonstration of Craft Prospect’s on-board and downstream AI/ML processing applications designed to work on SSTL’s Earth Observation spacecraft. 

Robert Elliot stated, 'This partnership unlocks powerful new tools in Earth observation and satellite data processing. By combining advanced AI/ML solutions with SSTL’s proven expertise in low-cost, highly capable small satellites, we are equipping our customers with the capabilities to deliver smarter, faster, and more responsive operations and services. These innovations will no doubt provide critical insights and data to tackle some of the most pressing global challenges we face today.'

Craft Prospect’s Head of Engineering Murray Ireland commented, 'We are thrilled to progress our partnership with SSTL, bringing cutting-edge onboard processing and AI to enhance the capabilities of their satellites. By generating actionable insights in orbit, we’re enabling faster, more impactful data for SSTL’s customers and laying the foundation for a new generation of mission concepts.'