UK Capabilities in

In-Orbit Servicing,

Assembly and Manufacturing

A project commissioned by the UK Space Agency. Run by Growbotics in partnership with Space Skills Alliance on behalf of the UKSpace ISAM Working Group

Key Outputs

  • Report cover titled "What capabilities does the UK have in in-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing?" with a Growbotics logo at the bottom right corner.

    What Capabilities does the UK have in ISAM?

    The report, finalised in December 2024, summarises the findings of the project and highlights the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for the UK in ISAM.

    Read the Report

  • ISAM Taxonomy & Capabilities Map

    Through engagement with the community, we established an ISAM taxonomy and a database of capabilities. We have published the taxonomy with the hope that it can support coordination, and be improved on as the sector matures.

    You can navigate the taxonomy, and click through to find related ISAM organisations with those capabilities.

    ISAM Capabilities Map

  • Capabilities Database

    We have begun developing a database of ISAM Capabilities that sits behind the capabilities map.

    Have something to add? Please get in touch to talk about your requirements.

    Talk to us

Project

Overview

Continuing from the IOSM Priorities Report (2023), in 2024 Growbotics have developed a capabilities map and report for the UK Space Agency. This initiative aimed to systematically analyse the landscape within this sector, assessing sovereign capabilities, pinpoint primary strengths and weaknesses, and identify key opportunities for the UK within the ISAM market. Growbotics worked closely with the UKspace ISAM working group and engaged with a wide variety of stakeholders through surveys, interviews and workshops to gain a comprehensive representation of the sector.
 

The project steering board, made up of key government and sector stakeholders, provided strategic direction and oversight for the project.

Final outputs consist of a UK ISAM capabilities map and final report containing an analysis of strengths & weaknesses in the field, finalised in December 2024.

 FAQs

  • As far as we can tell these are all acronyms with variation on the same theme.

    In the first project steering board meeting, we agreed to try and use ISAM to refer to this project, as it includes the broadest definition and to correspond with international norms. However the UK Space Sector has been using IOSM and the project is referred to IOSM contractually, so usage may vary.

    In-Orbit Servicing, Assembly & Manufacture (ISAM)

    In-Orbit Servicing & Manufacturing (IOSM)

    On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly & Manufacturing (OSAM), or IOSAM - (In-Orbit)

    The M is also interchangeable between Maintenance and Manufacturing and seems to vary depending on the context. We consider Maintenance to be included in Servicing.

  • know.space’s study is quantifying the potential future IOSM market size (UK and international), and focuses on how regulatory and policy blockers/enablers will affect market development. The study builds on know.space’s expertise in economic analysis of the UK Space Sector.

    Growbotics’ study focusses on the technology capabilities required for the UK to access this market, and where there are existing UK strengths, building on our domain expertise in ISAM as technical experts in the field.

    The studies have been designed to complement, rather than overlap.

  • We’d love to! Unfortunately it requires a not insignificant amount of effort, and/or for organisations to proactively send us more information.

    If you’ve got any free time to contribute or ability to automate/develop data scraping tools, lets chat!

    If you’d find it useful and would be willing to contribute to maintenance, definitely let us know!