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Guidance

Unlocking Space Defence and National Security (USD)

Published 13 October 2026

© Crown copyright 2026

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/unlocking-space-for-defence-and-national-security-usd/unlocking-space-defence-and-national-security-usd

1. Overview

Unlocking Space Defence and National Security (USD) programme supports the growth of organisations working across civil and defence space by addressing barriers identified through engagement with the space sector and by strengthening alignment across government, defence and national security stakeholders. The programme has been developed based on engagement with the space sector to identify barriers for organisations aiming to operate across civil and defence space, alongside cross-government alignment to map overlapping priorities and capability needs.  

The programme has two key focus areas: 

  • tackling industry barriers through information, advice, and funding to support the growth of organisations working across civil and defence space.  

  • driving cross-government and international alignment to support technology development that both meets commercial and national security and defence needs.  

The government has committed through the National Space Strategy in Action, Defence Space Strategy, and Space Industrial Plan to a cross-departmental approach to space for national security. This cross-departmental approach is further reflected in the Defence Investment Plan, which recognises space as critical national infrastructure and sets out investment in space capabilities, integrated air, space and missile defence, and collaboration across government to protect critical national assets and strengthen national resilience. Unlocking Space Defence and National Security (USD) workstream supports these commitments by delivering interventions that help organisations navigate the complexities of civil and defence space, provide clearer demand signals for industry, and improve strategic coordination between civilian and defence government departments.  

The programme aims to: 

  • raise awareness and provide practical information to help UK organisations working across civil and defence space navigate both sectors;  

  • enhance public services and provide clearer demand signals for industry by improving strategic alignment between civilian and defence space;  

  • support the growth of UK space companies through funding and investment opportunities.

The programme’s interventions have been informed by the Unlocking Space for Dual Use Request for Information, which mapped barriers faced by organisations aiming to work, or already working, across civil and defence space. These barriers included information access, unclear end-customer needs, procurement complexity, limited early-stage funding, routes to market, clearance and classification guidance, export controls and regulations, and engagement with defence departments. Full barriers list:

  1. Unclear end-customer needs  
  2. Complicated procurement processes  
  3. Restrictive procurement conditions  
  4. Limited funding for early-stage tech  
  5. Lack of routes to market  
  6. Lack of clear Dual Use Funding Routes  
  7. Divergent requirements  
  8. Complex Dual Use landscape  
  9. Clearance and classification  
  10. Defence Engagement & Collaboration  
  11. Lack of communication across HMG  
  12. Lack of interest from academia and start-ups  
  13. Export Controls & Regulations  
  14. Lack of access for SMEs  
  15. Funding and Investment availability  
  16. Limited access to facilities and infrastructure  
  17. Intellectual Property (IP) management  
  18. Technology adoption and adaptation  
  19. Perception of the Defence sector  
  20. Information access, awareness, and availability  
  21. Skills availability across sectors  
  22. Collaboration across the Space Sector

The workstream has also undertaken capabilities mapping to identify UK Space Agency-funded projects relevant to both civil and defence space, mapped against Space Industrial Plan capability areas and Defence Highly Assured Technical Areas. This supported an improved understanding of dual-use capability maturity, key gaps, overlaps and potential areas for collaboration.

In March 2026, a major package of investment and reform was announced by the Space Minister, stating that public funding is focused more sharply on four areas: Satellite Communications; In Orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (such as refuelling and maintaining satellites and producing products like medicines and semiconductors in space); Space Domain Awareness (such as tracking spacecraft, debris and space weather); and Launch for assured access to space. The government will go further and faster in these areas to drive economic growth and national security outcomes, while continue to support activity across the seven subsectors of the space economy. This approach is supported by targeted investments, including £40 million for the Unlocking Space Programme. Further information can be found here.

2. USD Priority Missions

The USD programme is structured around three priority missions: 

  1. Education & Awareness 
  2. Strategic Alignment 
  3. Funding & Procurement 

These missions support the programme’s overall aim to help organisations navigate civil and defence space opportunities, improving access to advice, information and funding, and strengthening coordination across government and with international stakeholders engagement undertaken where relevant and appropriate.

2.1 Education & Awareness

The Education & Awareness mission improves access to information, guidance and training for organisations already working, or aiming to work, across civil and defence space. It responds to sector feedback that organisations need clearer and more accessible information on how to navigate defence and national security opportunities. 

A key initiative under this mission is the Unlocking Space One Stop Shop for Information. This public information hub brings together guidance, training, and support from across government for organisations operating across civil and defence space. It covers topics identified through sector engagement and the Unlocking Space for Dual Use Request for Information, including security clearance, commercial information, export controls and regulations.  

The One Stop Shop is a collaborative initiative between the UK Space Agency, UK Space Command and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). It is designed to make relevant information easier to find and to improve awareness of existing government support for organisations working across civil and defence space.  

This mission also includes support on clearance and classification, helping organisations better understand the purpose of security clearances, information classification, related processes and secure ways of working.  

Support on export controls and regulations also sits under this mission. This activity helps organisations understand relevant regulatory requirements and existing sources of guidance when developing or commercialising dual-use space technologies.  

Additional Education & Awareness resources are provided through GovBridge, a learning programme delivered by the Unlocking Space for Government – Civil and the Unlocking Space Defence and National Security teams as part of the UK Space Agency Accelerator. The initiative provided focused support for entrepreneurs, to educate them on how to sell into government (contracts, not grants), to drive up the adoption of space tech across the public sector and make the UK government a viable anchor customer for space innovation. The initiative had two cohorts, ‘General’ & ‘Defence’, and this page contains the key resources from both learning modules - Unlocking Space - GovBridge resources.  

The Unlocking Space portfolio also circulates a quarterly newsletter, highlighting updates, insights, and opportunities for organisations interested in operating across civil and defence space. Register here.

2.2 Strategic Alignment

The Strategic Alignment mission strengthens coordination across civil, defence, national security and international stakeholders (where relevant) so that technology development is better aligned with shared priorities and future operational needs. It supports the development of clearer, more coherent demand signals for industry, it identifies opportunities where civil, national security and defence space priorities overlap, and it and informs the funding and procurement mission. This mission draws on sector engagement, the Unlocking Space for Dual Use Request for Information, and internal requirements mapping across Government end-users.  

Through its national security pillar, the UK Space Agency also seeks to connect its wider civil activity with National Security and Defence end-user demand, the USD programme providing dedicated, targeted dual-use programmes while helping to identify strategic alignment opportunities through other core UK Space Agency programmes. 

The USD programme works closely with UK Space Command, Dstl, and the wider national security and defence community to coordinate across government and improve alignment between sector capability, government requirements/demand and the emerging space problem set  for national security and defence users. .  

International collaboration is also central to this mission. The NATO Research Specialists’ Meeting (RSM) on dual-use space technology brought together over 140 participants from academia, industry, government and international organisations, including ESA and NATO DIANA, to explore future NATO space operations requirements across areas such as Space Domain Awareness, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Space Control, Satellite Communications, and In-Space Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing.  

For more information, read the UK Space Agency blog: NATO allies gather in UK to address dual-use space technology hurdles.

2.3 Funding & Procurement

The Funding & Procurement mission improves access to funding routes, procurement pathways and innovation opportunities for organisations developing space technologies relevant to national security and defence and wider government needs. It supports the growth of UK space companies by improving routes to market and helping organisations understand where their technologies can contribute to government priorities.  

A key initiative under this mission is the Space to Innovate campaign, with the Space to Innovate: Delta Drop most recently launched. The Delta Drop competition is run by UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) on behalf of the UK Space Agency and Dstl and seeks proposals that can help government develop future space technologies of benefit across multiple HMG uses.

The Delta Drop Focuses on three challenge areas: *technologies to enhance future sensor-to-response capabilities, improving coverage and response times for Space Domain Awareness, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and communications missions;  *novel technology approaches to self-protecting space-based platforms;  *technologies to enable resilience against ground-based electromagnetic threat.

Further information is available through the Space to Innovate: Delta Drop competition guidance and the UKDI Space to Innovate: Delta Drop news story. 

The Contracts for Innovation: UK Space Agency Unlocking Space for Defence (USD) and National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) BOREALIS Resident Space Object (RSO) Characterisation Development opportunity also sits under this mission. This Contracts for Innovation call supports the development of technologies aligned with end-user requirements from the UK national security and defence community, helping to ensure funded innovation has a clear route to operational relevance and potential adoption.  

The opportunity focuses on Resident Space Object characterisation development in support of NSpOC’s BOREALIS capability. It is intended to support organisations developing algorithms, tradecraft and validation approaches that can improve the characterisation of objects in orbit, including technologies relevant to Space Domain Awareness and non-Earth imagery exploitation. 

The call uses Contracts for Innovation as a demand-led funding and procurement mechanism. This enables government to commission research and development in response to defined challenges, while allowing suppliers, including small and medium-sized enterprises, to prototype, test and mature solutions in dialogue with government customers.  

Further information is available through the Contracts for Innovation: UK Space Agency Unlocking Space for Defence (USD) and National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) BOREALIS Resident Space Object (RSO) Characterisation Development tender notice. 

Future calls and opportunities will be posted on the Find a Tender webpage.

3. Get in touch

To contact the UK Space Agency Unlocking Space Programme, please use the email address unlockingspace@ukspaceagency.gov.uk.  

Register here for the Unlocking Space quarterly newsletter to receive updates, insights, and opportunities for organisations operating across civil and defence space. 

Find out more about the Unlocking Space programme by following the following link - Unlocking Space programme. Also, the links below offer further information regarding the other workstreams of the Unlocking Space programme: 

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