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National Space Innovation Programme - Call 3

The National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP) provides co-funded grant support to derisk high-reward R&D projects with a clear target market. NSIP operates open funding calls for all space-related technologies under two strands: NSIP Kick Starter that supports highly disruptive early-stage innovations, and NSIP Major Projects which emphasizes commercialisation and growth of particularly lucrative ideas from UK businesses, universities and research organisations. NSIP Call 3 will expand the NSIP portfolio of innovative R&D projects that meet the programme’s objectives to: catalyse investment into the UK space sector, capture market growth, raise Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) of priority space capabilities, and position space activities closer to commercialisation and exploitation.

  • Opening date: (Midnight)
  • Closing date: (Midnight)

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Summary

The UK Space Agency (UKSA), part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) invites proposals for UK-based research and development projects that will deliver innovative space technologies, applications and services through the National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP). NSIP provides co-funded grant support to derisk high-reward R&D projects with a clear target market.

NSIP operates open funding calls for all space-related technologies under two strands: NSIP Kick Starter that supports highly disruptive early-stage innovations, and NSIP Major Projects which emphasises commercialisation and growth of particularly lucrative ideas from UK businesses, universities and research organisations. Combined, these grant mechanisms provide an end-to-end support package to move great ideas across the “valley of death” and towards commercial success. 

NSIP Call 3 will expand the NSIP portfolio of innovative R&D projects that meet the programme’s objectives to: catalyse investment into the UK space sector, capture market growth, raise Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) of priority space capabilities, and position UK space activities closer to commercial and scientific exploitation.

Through NSIP Call 3, the UK Space Agency intends to award up to £20m of funding via co-funded grants. 

Applicants may apply for the following funding and project durations:

  • Kick Starter proposals may request grant funding between £150,000 and £1,000,000 with a maximum duration of 30 months. Kick Starter projects are roughly defined as early stage (TRL 1-4) with an emphasis on highly disruptive or novel proposals.

  • Major Projects proposals may request grant funding between £150,000 and £2,000,000 with a maximum duration of 30 months. Major Projects should achieve high TRLs (5-9) with an emphasis on commercialisation and catalysing investment.  

It is anticipated that with up to £20m of funding available, between 15-30 grants will be awarded. Beyond those initially awarded, a small pool of reserve list proposals for each stream will be kept in case additional funding becomes available or to replace any project that fails due diligence. As UKSA expects a very high level of interest in this funding call, a two-stage process will be conducted: an Outline Proposal stage and a Full Proposal stage. Those successful at Outline Proposal stage will be invited to submit a Full Proposal. We expect to invite Full Proposals from approximately 50 applicants.

Eligibility

All successful UK Space Agency grant proposals must follow certain mandatory requirements:

The project must be led by a UK organisation who will receive a grant from the UK Space Agency. This can be any type of UK organisation including University-led academic research proposals and Industry-led commercial research proposals

Grant recipients must demonstrate the ability to effectively manage a project

Grant recipients must have a UK bank account and all grant payments will be made in UK sterling (as per grant funding agreement).

As per the terms of the Grant Funding Agreement, the lead organisation will be required to put in place a Collaboration or Flow Down Agreement that ensures all terms and conditions within the Grant Funding Agreement are passed onto project partners. This should be in place with 30 days of signature. This should include provisions regarding how the results of the work, including any IPR and spinouts, will be exploited by project partners.

All project members must have in place and provide evidence when requested of appropriate anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies.

All project members must be able to provide evidence that they are GDPR compliant.

All project members must provide evidence of a process for declaring and managing conflicts of interest.

Projects cannot work in areas that are in active conflict and any travel to overseas areas must comply with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice.

Projects must pass due diligence checks on company viability and national security (including financial standing assessment, governance assessment, conflicts of interest assessment, national security assessment and technical expertise assessment) – the UK Space Agency reserves the right to withdraw any offer in the event an applicant does not pass any of these requirements.

Projects must comply with any call-specific rules stated in the call guidance page.

Projects can include non-domestic partners (including those within the EU) who bring their own funding. Applicants should note that all applicants, irrespective of geographic location, must still satisfy the core eligibility requirements set out in this section above and award will be subject to completion of satisfactory due diligence checks.

Objectives

NSIP contributes to the UK Space Agency’s Space Ecosystem – a foundational area described by the Space Strategy - as a key mechanism to support the government’s goals to:  

  1. Grow the UK space economy – increasing the space sectors’ capability to innovate, attract private capital needed to scale up and ultimately, increase the rate of commercialisation of UK developed space products and services.  

  2. Make the UK one of the best places globally to start up and grow a space business. 

Through NSIP grants, UKSA aims to: 

  • Catalyse investment: leverage private investment and secure contract and sales revenue into the UK space sector of 5-8 times the value of NSIP investment. 

  • Drive innovation: support an average improvement in Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 2 or more for supported projects, as measured over the lifetime of each project. 

  • Capture market share: support a generation of new products and services that are sold into the fastest growing and highest potential space markets.  

We welcome promising innovations from any part of the space sector to apply for support, though we would particularly encourage proposals aligned to the Government’s priority subsectors announced at Space Comm Expo in March 2026:  

  • Space Domain Awareness 

  • In-Orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing 

  • Assured Access to Space 

  • Satellite Communication Technology.

Dates

Call Opens - 20th July 2026

Expression of Interest Submission Deadline - 7th August 2026

Outline Proposal Submission Deadline - 23:59 on Friday 21st August 2026

Outline Proposal Selection concludes / Full Proposals Invited - Monday 5th October 2026

Call Closes (Full Proposal Submission Deadline) - 23:59 Thursday 12th November 2026

Successful Applicants Notified - Monday 8th February 2027

Project Kick-off - From 1st April 2027  

Projects Conclude - No later than 30th September 2029

How to apply

NSIP Call 3 will utilise an online portal for applications; the “Flexigrant” system will be used to manage the end-to-end application process, including submission of Expressions of Interest (EOIs), outline proposals, and full proposals, as well as the review and assessment of applications. Applicants are required to register for the Flexigrant portal in advance of submission. Proposals will be selected for funding through a two-stage process. An initial short Outline Proposal will be reviewed against the assessment questions set out in this call guidance - https://dsitgrants.flexigrant.com/login.aspx.

Successful proposals at that stage will then be invited to complete the Full Proposal documentation and proceed to detailed review against the full assessment questions. Feedback on unsuccessful proposals will be provided.Although it is not mandatory, applicants are strongly urged to complete and submit an “Expression of Interest” via the Flexigrant link by the 7th August 2026. EOIs will not be scored and are requested only to support the NSIP team to understand demand and organise an appropriate pool of independent external assessors - https://dsitgrants.flexigrant.com/login.aspx.

The Flexigrant application portal will close at 23:59 on Friday 21st August for Outline Proposals, any applications not submitted by this time will not be accepted.Applications from industry are limited to one per lead organisation per scheme (Kick Starter and/or Major Projects). Academic institutions and Research Organisations may submit up to three proposals per scheme. A lead organisation is defined as the organisation submitting the application and who is responsible for delivery of the Grant.

Supporting information

For any questions, please refer to the Announcement of Opportunity (AoO), FAQs document (FAQs), or contact UKSA.NSIP@dsit.gov.uk.