Notice

Application guidance

Updated 3 January 2024

1. Introduction 

Space sustainability is a priority for the UK (and globally), and we must take action to preserve the outer space environment for future generations.  

While space debris presents a real and increasing risk to the space-based services we all rely on daily, which we are trying to tackle through a national debris removal mission, we do not know enough about the potential negative impact of deorbiting spacecraft and other space objects on Earth’s atmosphere or climate.  

We are therefore commissioning a study to review existing research and guide the scope and type of research required to effectively aid decision-making on this important issue.  

The UK Space Agency is making available up to £300,000 of grant funding to map out the current state of research into atmospheric ablation (knowns, unknowns and gaps in knowledge), within the wider technical, geopolitical and socio-ecological context, in order to develop a viable research programme with short, medium and long-term goals.  

This study is expected to take 6 months. 

2. Background  

As numbers of space debris and launches into protected orbits such as LEO and GEO increase, a key question is how to remove defunct or dead spacecraft efficiently and economically at the end of their active life. 

Post-mission disposal is the final phase in the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a spacecraft and is the yardstick used to evaluate the environmental impacts of disposal options by assessing the emissions, resources consumed, and pressures on human health and the environment. The current mitigation option for LEO spacecraft is disposal through re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere within 25 years of launch, with recent space debris campaigns calling for 5 years. 

For the re-entry phase, the leading environmental impact identified has been danger to human populations from surviving debris reaching the Earth’s surface. To minimise risk, regulations have been imposed on spacecraft to prove that the design process and re-entry plan hold a causality risk of less than 1 in 10,000. Consequently, the amount of debris falling back on Earth has to be limited in terms of mass and size; this underpins the Design for Demise (D4D) philosophy, promoted by ESA and NASA. D4D also offers an alternative to the costly option of controlled re-entry into uninhabited areas of Earth, usually in the ‘spacecraft cemetery’ in the Pacific Ocean.  

To date, D4D research has focused solely on the challenge of building a spacecraft that is both functioning and demisable, but uncertainty remains on how the different materials behave during re-entry as the ablation process is complex. D4D does not consider or study the environmental impact on the upper atmosphere from the particles and gases released during re-entry and burn up. The materials include aluminium and other metal oxide particles, and chlorine and nitrogen oxide gases, which could, in theory, induce ozone depletion and potentially affect Earth’s ability to regulate solar radiation. 

Discussions on this topic have been slow to begin as, in general, the space sector views the problem to be trivial – supported by the findings of theoretical atmospheric modelling research – but a lack of empirical research to inform the models makes the findings too uncertain to draw firm conclusions. Recently, metals from spacecraft and other space objects have been found in the upper atmosphere by climate scientists, but more research is needed to understand the wider impacts. 

Currently the known body of rigorous research is too small to conclude with certainty that the re-entry of spacecraft and other space objects will have no significant negative impact on Earth’s atmosphere and climate. Additional relevant research may exist but is not yet available in the public domain. 

The UK Space Agency plans to partner with the Australian Space Agency as the study progresses; therefore, the selected awardee will, in due course, be expected to engage with Australian researchers undertaking complementary work in this area.  

3. Aim and objectives  

A detailed literature review (beyond the field of space engineering) is therefore required to guide the scope and type of research needed to effectively aid decision-making. Also, the phenomena do not exist in a vacuum and future viable research and policy decisions will be framed by the wider context, including the technical, geopolitical and socio-ecological landscapes. 

Consequently, this work takes a wider approach and aims to design a future research programme with recommendations for viable mitigation and regulatory solutions from which an economic business case can be developed. 

To achieve this aim, the study has 5 objectives: 

1. consolidate the research strategy (in the winning application) on how to effectively study the phenomena
2. deliver a white (formal) and grey (informal) literature review of topics outlined in, but not limited to, the research strategy with recommendations for future research to address current gaps
3. map out and analyse the current technical, geopolitical and socio-ecological landscapes surrounding atmospheric ablation research to identify viable mitigation and non-binding and/or regulatory solutions
4. design a future research programme with short, medium and long-term goals, with a management plan of where to focus resource and time
5. deliver relevant economic analysis on a future research programme which can be used to inform and justify any further HMG investments in this area

4. Stage descriptions  

The delivery of this grant is to be structured in such a way to ensure the research is conducted in a manner that can be useful for both wider academia and government in making potential future policy decisions. As such, projects should be structured as per the stages below:  

4.1 Stage 1: Research strategy – how to study the phenomena  

The environmental impacts of spacecraft and other space objects burning up in the atmosphere is a complex and poorly understood phenomenon, which requires knowledge from a wide variety of disciplines. This task will consolidate the winning research strategy, outlined in the proposal response, to guide the remaining tasks.  

• input: 
  • All applicable documents (eg, proposal review panel feedback) 
• task description: 
  • consolidate and refine the research strategy to outline:
    • rationale for choice of methodologies, methods and scope of research topics to study the phenomena 
    • additional knowledge across the LCA to better understand the environmental impact of atmospheric ablation (eg, new materials) 
    • rationale for additional topics of study beyond the current focus on chemical changes in the atmosphere and impact on the ozone layer and climate change
    • known gaps in, and barriers to, the above knowledge
• output: 
  • research strategy (publishable and written for policy audience), including: 
    • why, when, where and how satellites are de-orbited into the upper atmosphere (explaining controlled and uncontrolled re-entry)

4.2 Stage 2: Literature review  

Existing rigorous research is at a nascent stage with unacceptable levels of uncertainty, in particular data informing atmospheric models. This task will deliver a robust review of white and grey literature in the study topics outlined in the research strategy, supplemented with virtual interviews as necessary.  

• input: 
  • all applicable documents (eg, white and grey literature) 
  • research strategy from Stage 1 
• task description: 
  • complete a literature review that: 
    • designs a rigorous research strategy 
    • locates and analyses good quality sources and sifts out poor quality sources 
    • incorporates gap analysis, i.e. what is known and unknown in each topic 
    • makes distinctions between the effects (describing what is observed) and corresponding impacts (what this means) and the validity of the correlation 
    • outlines the status of rigorous laboratory research to inform atmospheric models (eg, settling times, atmospheric circulation and chemical changes) 
    • identifies the Technology Readiness Level of technology to study the re-entry process in near real-time in situ (beyond wind tunnels) 
    • recommends research needed with rationale and weighting 
• output: 
  • literature review document (publishable) with: 
    • detailed search strategy (inclusion and exclusion criteria)

4.3 Stage 3: Critical landscape analysis (technical, geopolitical, socio-economic)  

The phenomena do not exist in a vacuum and future actions and policy decisions will be framed and contained by the wider context. Too often this type of research is technologically led and important wider analysis is ignored or carried out too late leading to unactionable recommendations, in particular for HM Treasury in times of economic austerity. This task will produce a critical analysis of the wider technical, geopolitical and socio-ecological landscapes, and develop 2-3 scenarios with recommendations for viable mitigation and non-binding and/or regulatory solutions.   

• input:
  • all applicable publicly-available documents (e.g. recent UK space policy documents) 
  • research strategy from Stage 1
• task description: 
  • complete a critical landscape analysis, including but not limited to: 
    • technology: which current and future D4D research projects could inform atmospheric ablation research1 
    • geopolitics: eg, impact of reducing re-entry guidance from 25 to 5 years; barriers to accessing relevant knowledge (eg, Intellectual Property rights or military privacy) 
    • socio-ecology: eg, trade-offs between benefits of D4D and potential environmental impacts 
    • known gaps in, and barriers to, the above knowledge 
    • best-case to worst-case scenarios with recommendations 
• output: 
  • critical landscape analysis report (publishable)

4.4 Stage 4: Future research programme   

This task will design a viable research programme with immediate, mid and long-term goals. 

• input:
  • all applicable documents (eg, the call document) 
  • research strategy from Stage 1 
  • literature review from Stage 2 
  • critical analysis from Stage 3 
• task description: 
  • design a future research programme that: 
    • considers impacts of the technical, geopolitical and socio-ecological landscape on viable research plans
    • outlines a hierarchy of research needed with clear rationale
    • categorises research needed and viable mitigation, non-binding and regulatory solutions into short, medium and long-term goals
    • estimates costs for each proposed area of the research programme
    • takes into account existing research efforts, including UK Space Agency investments into ESA work and IADC, building on and complementing these efforts
• output: 
  • future research programme plan (not to be published) 

4.5 Stage 5: Evidence for future research business case  

Spending decisions by HM Treasury need to be informed by a viable and valid business case for any research programme, identifying the economic costs and social benefits to UK taxpayers. This task will develop an outline research business case based predominantly on short-term goals to support the UK Space Agency’s future research business case planning. 

• input:
  • all applicable documents (eg, the call guidance document, UK space strategy documents) 
  • research programme document from Stage 4 
• task description: 
  • identify economically viable research options from Stage 4 which can be delivered within 1-5 years including: 
    • empirical research to inform existing theoretical atmospheric models. 
    • relevant research whose findings can enhance existing UK knowledge base in academia, industry and NGOs (eg, meteorite behaviour, D4D materials) 
    • geopolitical, ecological and socio-economic research to inform current space policy
    • demonstrate economic and social benefits to the UK economy and UK taxpayers
• output: 
  • outline research business case (not to be published)

4.6 Stage 6: Project management  

This stage relates to the management of the study and will run throughout the life of the grant. 

• input:
  • all applicable documents 
• task description:
  • produce a project management plan to manage the study 
  • provide regular reports on each of the tasks via: 
    • monthly progress reports 
    • Mid-Term and Final Reviews 
• output: 
  • project management plan 
  • monthly reports 
  • organisation of Mid-Term and Final Reviews 
  • meeting minutes and actions

5. Summary of stage outputs  

Stage	Deliverable name	KO	MTR	FR	Notes
1	Research strategy	x	x
2	Literature review		x
3	Landscape analysis		x
4	Future research programme			x
5	Outline research business case			x
6	KO presentation	x
6	Project management plan	x
6	KO minutes	x
6	Organisation of MTR and FR		x	x
6	MTR presentation and mins		x
6	FR presentation and mins			x
6	Monthly progress reports				Month 1 – updated research strategy

6. Expected timeline and workflow 

Dates	Notes
11 December 2023	Call formally opens, with all documents (including guidance and application forms) uploaded onto the GOV.UK website
19 January 2024 (midday)	Call closes, acknowledgement of receipt
22 January to 2 February 2024	Independent assessment of proposals
5 February 2024	Successful and unsuccessful notifications to applicants
5 to 23 February 2024	Grant agreement process
23 February 2024	Successful study announced, on grant and commences work

7. Eligibility 

See annexes for full guidance on eligibility, finance, evaluation criteria, etc. However, in summary, to lead this study you: 

• can be an organisation of any size.
• can work alone or with other organisations as sub-contractors
• must have a valid UK bank account capable of accepting BACS payments
• must be able to provide reporting against UK Space Agency metrics as required
• must ensure your application does not exceed 10 pages in length plus the required annexes, which must be completed in full. The text used should be size 11 Arial font

Grants will be awarded to a single legal entity only. 

It is recommended that you review all annexes before starting your application. 

8. Deadline and contact 

Applications to be submitted to sustainability@ukspaceagency.gov.uk by 12pm on 20 January 2024. Any queries should also be directed to this email address.