Mission Feasibility Studies – Spacecraft Life Extension Service Demonstration

This is one of two concurrent procurements being progressed, the other being for In-Orbit Manufacturing (IOM) Maturation Research & Development Projects. Please see the respective notice on Find a Tender: • Title: In-Orbit Manufacturing (IOM) Maturation Research & Development Projects The UK Space Agency is launching a Contracts for Innovation competition to fund approximately three Phase 0/A mission feasibility studies examining credible options for a potential future in-orbit demonstration of a Rendezvous, Proximity Operations and Docking (RPOD)-enabled spacecraft Life Extension service. The studies will develop and assess mission concepts capable of performing safe, reliable and repeatable RPOD with a cooperative or prepared client spacecraft. The intended demonstration may enable or de-risk a future Life Extension service such as refuelling, Attitude and Orbit Control System (AOCS) takeover, relocation, component replacement, repair, upgrade or refurbishment. The demonstration would not necessarily be required to perform the complete future service. The Life Extension feasibility studies will: • Develop and compare credible mission concepts for an RPOD-enabled Life Extension service demonstration with a prepared client spacecraft, including analysis of the client, servicer, launch service, operations and ground-segment options required to deliver the mission. • Assess how each concept could demonstrate safe, reliable and repeatable RPOD operations and support a commercially relevant Life Extension service such as refuelling, AOCS takeover, relocation, repair, upgrade or refurbishment. • Identify the evidence, costs, risks, dependencies and decision points required to inform a potential future Life Extension demonstration procurement and associated Business Case. 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 con