Engineered4Extremes - In Focus

Forty-five years ago, a British satellite was built from off-the-shelf parts in an improvised cleanroom. Its descendants are now heading beyond Earth orbit. UoSAT-1, the University of Surrey satellite that flew in 1981, set the rapid, pragmatic philosophy that still defines Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL), the company the university later spun out to commercialise that work. In March 2026 the Guildford-based firm announced it was building the spacecraft platform for Lazuli, a privately funded deep-space observatory operating far beyond Earth orbit, applying that philosophy at a far more ambitious scale. SSTL’s portfolio, including HotSat-2, HydroGNSS and CarbSAR, plus the forthcoming JUNO and Lunar Pathfinder missions, spans Earth observation, science, defence and commercial work: deep space, once the preserve of national agencies, now looks within reach of a satellite-maker from Surrey