UK Space Facilities University of Dundee

University of Dundee

The University was part of the University of St Andrews for 70 years before it became an independent institution, the University of Dundee in 1967 which now comprises ten multi-disciplinary schools. The Space Technology Centre (STC) is part of the Discipline of Computing within the School of Science and Engineering. It has appropriate resources for the development of hardware and software for space applications as well as dedicated PC and Unix workstations and Unix-based servers. The Space Technology Centre conducts internationally leading research into several areas of space technology including spacecraft on-board data- handling and planetary lander technology. Historically, it has had a major influence on the design of spacecraft on-board data-handling and processing systems. Specifically, it led the development of the SpaceWire standard for ESA, which has been widely adopted by the world’s space agencies and is being used on many space missions. These SpaceWire developments led to the launch in 2002 of a spin-out company, STAR-Dundee Ltd to commercialise the group's world-leading SpaceWire technology and experience.
The University has vision-based spacecraft guidance and navigation control systems and a comprehensive software suite for simulating planetary and asteroid surfaces for testing future spacecraft lander, rendezvous and rover missions.
The University’s Space Technology Centre has particular expertise and facilities to support planetary lander technology research and the development of on-board data-handling (OBDH) systems. It is happy to work with external customers under suitable commercial arrangements.