UK gov spending £36m on a new radar to track space objects
National Space Operations Centre programme building an "overseas network" of sensors and radars for space surveillance.
The UK government wants home-grown technology to track objects in space and is willing to pay tens of millions to develop sovereign equipment for "space safety."
The UK Space Agency (UKSA) plans to build a new radar and is calling for UK-based companies with friendly supply chains to submit bids, according to a tender notice published on Tuesday.
The procurement notice said the National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) wants a 1MW-class space surveillance radar to track space objects in low earth orbit (LEO) in the southern hemisphere.