Guidance

Enterprise Space Category Market Engagement: Request for Information version 2

Published 6 May 2025

Confidentiality

All information included in this Request for Information (RFI) is confidential. No information included in your response, or in discussions connected to it, will be disclosed outside of the Enterprise Space Category Team. General themes and overall analysis of supplier responses will inform future market engagement activity.

Introduction

The Enterprise Space Category (ESC) is a cross-government Category, under the stewardship of Victoria Cope (2* Defence Digital Commercial Director) as part of the Defence Enterprise approach to Category Management. The aim of the ESC is to share intelligence, insights, challenges and to identify opportunities for working together across the space value chain. This is a major step as part of collaborative working across the Space domain to build a single Space Enterprise Category Strategy with a focus on strategic alignment and engaging the market as “one” Government to drive innovation and implement best practice procurement methodologies.

This RFI shares the Enterprise Space Category Tree and invites responses to help us understand the structure of the space market, geographical distribution of supplier facilities and to explore the ways in which we may work together in the future.

This RFI is not a bidding opportunity but a means by which industry can provide information. This is a continuation of the ESC ongoing market engagement activity and is not specific to any current or future procurement.

Background

The ESC currently encompasses all procurement activities required by the UK MOD to deliver space related capabilities. This covers satellite communications (SATCOM), Ground Stations, Land and Maritime Terminals, Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT), Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Space Domain Awareness (SDA). By far the largest and most significant of these capabilities is the SATCOM programme (SKYNET) procured and managed by Defence Digital. This provides commercial and military satellites worldwide and supporting infrastructure to ensure highly assured communications for operations at home and in the deployed theatre. The ESC has an annual spend of £390m.

The Defence Space Category Team has been established for a number of years and formed as an early part of the implementation of Category Management within the MOD. The objective was to work with the wider TLBs and enabling organisations across Defence to implement radical reform of procurement practices. The aims and objectives of the joint team were to achieve best-practice procurement and target savings through rigorous commitment to category management principles and significant improvement of relationships with its supply base. In February 2024 the Enterprise Space Category (ESC) was established with an intent to expand the Space Category beyond the MOD to include other Government Departments such as Cabinet Office (Crown Commercial Services (CCS) and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) as well as UK Space Agency (UKSA). A monthly Space Category Steering Group has been established as part of the governance process which oversees the ESC Category outputs as well as sharing insights and best practice.

Purpose of this RFI

This RFI aims achieve the following outcomes:

a. To share the Enterprise Space Category Tree with space market participants;

b. To elicit the views of space market participants about the degree to which the Enterprise Space Category Tree reflects the market;

c. To understand the composition of the space market and how it maps to the Enterprise Space Category Tree;

d. To begin to map the geographical location of supplier facilities by sub category;

e. To identify challenges within the space market; and

f. To capture preferences and suggestions for future communication and collaboration between the MOD and space market.

RFI Procedure

This Request for Information was advertised on the Defence Sourcing Portal originally in May 2025. It continues to be useful way for us to capture information relevant to the Enterprise Space Category and version 2 is issued ad hoc to suppliers and other interested organisations to widen participation and allow for information to be updated over time. We typically share the link to this questionnaire when we meet at events and conferences but also to those who contact us individually to tell us about their role in the space market.

Responses to this RFI will be analysed by the Enterprise Space Category Team and will inform the ongoing work of the ESC. This could involve further engagement with individual space market participants, groups of space market participants or full market engagement. Themes identified during this exercise might also inform our planned agenda of round table sessions. Future engagements may be undertaken in writing, virtually or at inperson events.

This RFI is not procurement specific. Responses provided to this RFI will not constitute any form of pre-qualification or tender and will not lead to a formal procurement activity. The work of the ESC may, however, shape the way that future procurements are conducted across the Category.

How to respond to this RFI

Responses to this RFI are welcomed at any time.

The RFI takes the form of a questionnaire (MS Forms) which can be found at the following link:

Enterprise Space Category Supplier Questionnaire

Please contact us by email if you experience any issues in completing the questionnaire.

Contact email: UKStratComDD-CM-Space-ESC@mod.gov.uk

Annex A - Enterprise Space Category Tree

Space and ground segment manufacturing

Spacecraft manufacturing and integration:

• satellites (for example communication, earth observation including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), scientific, geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), low Earth orbit (LEO))
• propulsion systems
• satellite systems, telemetry and control (SST&C) and flight control systems
• solar arrays

Spacecraft payload manufacturing:

• cryptographic equipment
• cameras and optics
• imaging specific payloads (for example communication, imagery)

Launch vehicle manufacturing:

• vehicle types (for example expendable, reusable)

Terminals and user devices:

• land and maritime terminals
• protected modems
• software systems
• masts

Robotic systems:

• space exploration approaches
• system engineering and hardware development

Test and evaluation:

• compliance assessment
• environmental testing activities
• test ranges
• systems management
• test evaluation and assurance

Components and materials:

• types of components (for example propulsion fuels, avionics)
• material specifications (for example lightweight composites, alloys)
• obsolescence management (for example spares)

Ground based sensors:

• space telescopes and radars

Space operations

Space flight operations:

• plan, design and delivery of missions
• infrastructure
• suitably qualified and experience personnel (SQEP)
• training and education
• simulation

Satellite system operations:

• type of system (position, navigation and timing (PNT), ISR, satellite communications (SATCOM))
• infrastructure and encryption
• technology and software
• network management
• service integration

Ground stations and infrastructure:

• ground station locations (for example global network)
• data handling capabilities (for example real time processing)
• anchors and antennas

Satellite filings:

• orbital filing slots

In-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing:

• in-orbit refuelling
• in-orbit servicing
• in-orbit manufacturing
• debris removal

Spacecraft launch services:

• provision of launch as a service
• launch frequency and reliability metrics
• launch types (for example direct injection, GEO, LEO)

Space applications

Satellite communication services:

• service types (for example broadband, broadcasting, Wi‑Fi)
• coverage areas (for example global, regional)
• deployed (for example satellite constellations)

Satellite PNT services:

• applications (for example transportation, mapping)
• accuracy and assurance levels (for example standard, enhanced)
• data processing (for example analytics, visualisation)
• types of services (for example global position system (GPS), global navigation satellite system (GNSS))

Earth observation (including ISR):

• types of data collected (for example imagery, environmental data)
• applications (for example agriculture, disaster management)
• analytics and attribution

Space observation services:

• intelligence data gathering
• reconnaissance
• environmental monitoring
• analytics and attribution

Space enabling services

Space professional services:

• client-side support (for example strategic planning, project delivery, training, advisory)
• legal advisers
• compliance and investment advisers

Space insurance:

• types of insurance (for example launch, satellite)
• coverage options (for example full, partial)
• data market trends

Space research and studies:

• research areas (for example market trends, competitive analysis, surveys)
• reports and studies – key findings and insights
• innovation

Space engineering services:

• design and development
• analysis and modelling
• test and evaluation