Rendering of the In-Space Missions Faraday Dragon mission. Photo: In-Space Missions

In-Space Missions has secured more funding from the UK Space Agency (UKSA) as it looks to progress its Faraday Dragon rideshare satellite program. The funding from Phase 2 of the UKSA’s International Bilateral Fund will be used in the development of Asia-Pacific payload technologies that will fly on Faraday Dragon, a multi-agency Asia-Pacific regional rideshare satellite missions. In-Space Missions announced the extra funding on Feb.15.

The high-profile project brings together established and emerging space entities from Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Thailand. It is hoped that it will open up additional opportunities for the U.K. to be at the forefront of future partnerships and procurement programs in the Asia-Pacific region.

Technologies selected from the regional partners to fly on-board Faraday Dragon include a hyperspectral imager, VHF Data Exchange System (VDES), inter-satellite links, a deep space astronomy payload, and scientific and technological components.

“The success of Faraday Dragon has exceeded our expectations and additional funding will enable us to progress the technology readiness levels for the down-selected payloads. With five organizations already interested in flying their innovative space technologies on the spacecraft, we are confident we will have an interesting mix of complementary capabilities on our first Faraday Dragon rideshare mission. We hope that by encouraging multiple customers to participate in rideshare missions, we can offer a more cost effective and sustainable approach to space,” Tony Holt, director of Business Development and Propositions, In-Space Missions said in a statement.