The Satellite Applications Catapult will work with U.K. suppliers for the Kepler spacecraft platform and will support Kepler’s business development to establish a U.K. base and operations into Europe.
The Satellite Applications Catapult in Harwell, Oxfordshire will partially fund the third Kepler prototype and assist Kepler in establishing its first office outside of Canada in the United Kingdom.
Kepler’s KIPP satellite was launched to low-Earth orbit in January on a Chinese Long March 11 rocket to provide store-and-forward services.
Kepler was launched in March 2009 to search for planets around other stars by detecting minute, periodic dips in starlight caused by planetary transits.
Kepler has been operating under the extended K2 mission since 2014.