AAC CLYDE SPACE LANDS MAJOR CONTRACTS

They say that necessity is the mother of invention and space pioneers AAC Clyde Space are no strangers to meeting challenges head on. Major business wins, a switch to digital conferences, a Careers in Space seminar, and ‘Sally Squats’ have kept the team tight and busy as they adapt to new ways of working with colleagues across the world. Niki Lonsdale of AAC Clyde Space shares the latest update.

“While the majority of our staff work from home, those involved in manufacturing are continuing to work from our clean room facilities at Skypark 5. We have implemented newoperational procedures to ensure that safe social distancing practices throughout our manufacturing facilities are followed.

“For those working from home, keeping a healthy work life balance is extremely important. Everyone is encouraged to take regular breaks and find a balanced routine that works for them. Alongside our weekly Family Meeting, quizzes and the ‘Sally Squat’ challenge, keep us in touch and entertained!

“On the business front, we received two large orders over the lockdown period with an (£642,000) order for a 6U satellite from Orbital Micro Systems (OMS), to be launched as part of the UK Space Launch Programme. The satellite will be included in the company's commercial GEMS program that will deliver accurate and timely weather information to businesses worldwide, to improve operational efficiencies and to minimise damage caused by extreme weather.

“In addition, Loft Orbital placed an order for power systems for two satellites worth 250,000 USD. The systems will be delivered during 2020, starting with an engineering model in the current quarter, to be followed by flight models for two satellites in the latter half of 2020. These two large orders come alongside various small subsystem orders that highlight the increasingly busy small and nanosatellite market that we operate in.

“The world of webinars is extremely prominent now, said Niki. “During March we hosted our first virtual conference; our digital booth ran over four days with live Q&A sessions alongside our ‘#SpaceIsAwesome’ t-shirt giveaways every night. Since then we have continued to host webinars with our CTO, Andrew Strain presenting a live SmallSat and CubeSat power systems discussion alongside our Head of Business Development, Mattias Orth. These live webinars have kept our customers engaged at a time where we are not able to travel and have shown that they are a great way to discuss our products and business across the globe from home.

“In May, our Head of Institutional Engagement, Pam Anderson collaborated with The UK Space Agency’s Head of Education and Skills, Jeremy Curtis, to present a live Careers in Space webinar. The STEM promotion was aimed at primary school children and was a way for young people across the UK to understand a bit about a career in space. Pam Anderson has also been a panellist on the EIT Digital and Edinburgh University live webinar where she discussed space data for the digital economy and space-based solutions for downstream digital applications. These webinars have been a great way to provide valuable content and stay engaged.

“Our ability to adapt to this ever-changing situation while completing major project milestones highlights why AAC Clyde Space is one of the global NewSpace leaders,” Niki finished.

To find out more on Clyde Space contact niki.lonsdale@aac-clydespace.com and visit www.aac-clyde.space