Helping to develop a new Space science mission concept to investigate fundamental space physics around Earth in ESA backed study

It’s an exciting time for our recently established space business unit, as we’ve been awarded a contract by the European Space Agency (ESA) to conduct an early ‘Phase A’ study to develop spacecraft designs for a seven-satellite mission to study the energetic plasmas which envelop the Earth from the sun. Space plasma is everywhere in the Universe and this mission aims to study how it is energised and transported by studying it in near-Earth space.

If successfully selected from a shortlist of three missions, the study will lead to the realisation and launch of this seven spacecraft mission that would transform our understanding of both fundamental plasma physics processes and the near-Earth plasma environment, providing insight into the science behind space weather.

During this early study phase, two different aerospace companies will undertake parallel studies to ensure that a range of designs are considered. This is a candidate for the M7 mission which will ultimately form part of ESA’s fleet of science missions, which cover a wide range of ambitious space science themes.

Civil space mission

This Plasma Observatory mission focuses on two key questions: how are particles energised in space plasmas? And what processes dominate energy transport and drive interactions between the different regions of Earth’s magnetospheric system?

The initial stage of this project – which will involve running a detailed analysis to produce a more comprehensive design for the mission – will start this year and run until mid-2026, with the potential to continue if Plasma Observatory is chosen to be the next M-class mission.

If successfully selected, the study will lead to the build and launch of the seven-spacecraft constellation, made up of one ‘mother’ spacecraft and six ‘daughter’ spacecraft in Highly Elliptical Orbits (HEO), to explore the plasma environment around Earth.

This mission complements other ESA missions looking at the Sun-Earth interactions – answering important scientific questions and ultimately keeping life and technology safe from the effects of solar winds. Indeed, it could lead to transformative advances in the field of space plasma physics, with implications on research fields that span from space weather to the understanding of the farthest astrophysical plasmas.

This mission demonstrates our dual-use credentials and is just one example of where we are addressing civil space opportunities to support organisations such as ESA and the UK Space Agency. Through our highly-skilled team, we are continuing to develop a full space capability as part of our objective to become a leading UK space prime.

And this is not the first time we’ve worked with ESA. The organisation’s M-class missions cover a huge range of space science topics, helping Europe to answer important scientific questions. Many of these operate in deep space, and are supported with tracking, telemetry and command processing capabilities built by BAE Systems to receive data from the spacecraft in deep space back to Earth. One example of a flying M-class mission connecting via this hardware is Euclid, a space telescope exploring the composition and evolution of the dark Universe.