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The UK Space Agency (UKSA) is launching a Contracts for Innovation competition to fund approximately two In-Orbit Manufacturing (IOM) Maturation Research & Development Projects.
The competition will support the research, development and maturation of an In-Orbit Manufacturing process and associated payload. Projects will undertake proportionate design, prototyping, analysis and testing to achieve Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4/5 by the Final Review milestone and establish a credible route to a potential future demonstration in an appropriate microgravity environment.
The IOM Maturation Projects will:
· Mature the IOM manufacturing process and associated payload to TRL 4/5 by the Final Review milestone, generating evidence against relevant performance indicators (such as quality, performance and quantity).
· Develop and compare credible routes to a future microgravity demonstration, identifying the developments required to progress towards demonstration by 2030.
· Strengthen the commercial case and strategic relevance of the proposed IOM capability, including its relevance to identified customer and end-user needs.
· Generate evidence to inform future UKSA investment and procurement decisions, including a potential future IOM demonstration procurement and the associated ISAM IOD Programme Business Case.
This is one of two concurrent procurements being progressed, the other being for Mission Feasibility Studies – Spacecraft Life Extension Service Demonstration. Please see the respective notice on Find a Tender:
Title: Mission Feasibility Studies – Spacecraft Life Extension Service Demonstration
This procurement is for exempted contracts under section 3(6) and paragraph 22 of Schedule 2, Part 2 (subject-matter exempted contracts) of the Procurement Act 2023. Exempted contracts are not public contracts as defined by section 3 of the Act and are therefore not required to be procured in accordance with the provisions of the Act relating to covered procurement. This competition concerns Research and Development services.
Bidder Engagement Event
The UK Space Agency will hold an optional in-person Engagement Event covering both ISAM In-Orbit Demonstration Programme Discovery Phase competitions. The event will provide an overview of the tender documentation and published tender requirements for both procurements and include a clarification Q&A session. Transcriptions and any clarifications that materially affect the procurement requirements will subsequently be uploaded to the Jaggaer eSourcing Portal.
The Engagement Event will take place on 6 November 2026 at the UK Space Agency Conference Centre, Harwell Campus, OX11 0FD. Bidders may attend either the morning session (10:00-12:00) or the afternoon session (13:00-15:00).
Organisations wishing to attend must express their interest by 15:00 UK time on 4 November 2026 by emailing UKSA.commercial@dsit.gov.uk with the subject line "IOD Discovery Phase Engagement Event". The email must state which session the organisation wishes to attend and provide the name and email address of the proposed attendee. Attendance is limited to one representative per organisation. Subject to capacity, a second representative may be accommodated. Organisations wishing to send two representatives should request this when registering their interest. UKSA will confirm by 15:00 UK time on 5 November 2026 whether a second attendee can be accommodated.
