Lead Organisation: Surrey Space Centre, University of Surrey
Project Lead: Simon Fellowes
Partners: In-Space Missions Ltd.
The proposing team – Surrey Space Centre (SSC) and In-Space Missions Limited (ISML) – has identified both an urgent specific need and large market for a zoomable, fast slew, gimbaled video and still camera system. This product is designated ‘Nimble’. The project is developing the mechanisms, optics and interfaces to deliver a protoflight model of the Nimble system.
This project will develop the first generation of the Nimble camera system to be ready for launch in 2020. Profits from sales of the NimbleX5 will be leveraged, alongside some additional private investment, to develop a family of cameras to address a wide market. In order to be ready for launch in early 2020, the project must conclude by end of Q3 2019 with the build and qualification of a protoflight NimbusX5 unit. The development will exploit terrestrial COTS and processes alongside industrial and academic know-how to build a product that is low cost and allows a rapid schedule by design.
Surrey Space Centre brings many years of experience in satellite technology and payload development and has world class capability in nanosatellite and mechanism development. In-Space Missions Limited (ISML) brings over 50 years of combined experience in designing, building, testing, launching and operating low cost satellites and satellite payloads. In addition, ISML has the ability to industrialise and commercialise the technology and has access to a number of low cost flight opportunities via the Faraday IOD programme.