Official UK procurement notice
Contracts for Innovation: UK Space Agency Unlocking Space for Defence (USD) and National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) BOREALIS Resident Space Object (RSO) Characterisation Development
Authority: Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionUK Space Agency’s Unlocking Space for Defence (USD) and the National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) are offering funding to eligible organisations. It is anticipated that between three and five contracts will be awarded, each valued between £120,000 and £250,000 (inclusive of VAT), to eligible organisations to apply, to research and develop initial proof of concepts for characterisation of resident space objects and similar solutions that directly improve the quality of data being ingested within the BOREALIS system, contributing to enhanced characterisation analysis capabilities within NSpOC.
This funding is from the UK Space Agency only and applicants should note this competition is wholly run and administered by the UK Space Agency.
Applicants should note that as BOREALIS is a sovereign UK capability and this work is to develop solutions that eventually can be deployed into use, this competition is restricted to UK registered companies on grounds of national security. For the avoidance of doubt, this can include UK-registered universities.
Full details are provided in the attached Competition Brief.
This notice relates to the intended procurement for a contract which is an exempted contract under s 3(6) and Schedule 2, Part 2 (Subject-matter exempted contracts), paragraph 22 (Research and Development Services) of the Procurement Act 2023 (the 'Act'). Exempted contracts are not a public contract as defined in s3 of the Act and therefore are not required to be procured in accordance with the provisions of the Act that relate to a covered procurement.
- No preliminary market engagement: Using R&D exemption
CPV: Industry specific software development services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Published value£625,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (4)
- Proposed idea or technology: 40%
- Project Management: 30%
- Value For Money: 20%
- Benefit to the UK: 10%
Published award criteria (4)
- Proposed idea or technology: Proposals are expected to provide a description of your proposed solution, including details of which Substantive Objectives (1-7) within the competition brief it addresses and how. Proposals can include images and diagrams but these will contribute to the 3 page limit.
- Project Management: Proposals are expected to demonstrate they are well planned and connected to key milestones. They should be deliverable within the specified timeframe and projects should have an effective structure in place for managing the administration of a project of this size. There should be a sound approach to planning to achieve objectives on time and within budget. Key risks should be identified and mitigated. You should set out the resources that will be needed to deliver your project (including any subcontractors/partners) and describe how each organisation has the skills, capabilities and experience to deliver intended benefits. You should identify any project management processes or methodologies and describe key risks and how these will be mitigated. You can also include a full risk register as an annex which will not be included in the page limit. You should include a project plan/Gantt chart within your answer, but note that this will not be included in the page limit.
- Value For Money: All projects will need to demonstrate they represent value for money for the taxpayer. This is demonstrated by providing appropriate budgets allocated to appropriate tasks. Information from the finance spreadsheet will be used to support the assessment of this question. Proposed milestones and associated payments should match those entered in the project management section of your application.
- Benefit to the UK: All projects will need to demonstrate the investment sought from the UK Government represents clear value for the UK public through measurable benefits to the UK economy, supply chain and public.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Closed
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 7 Aug 2026, 15:40 BST
- Last source update
- 7 Aug 2026, 15:40 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 21 Sept 2026
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-075408- Accelerated
- State of urgency
- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06df60Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
Contracts for Innovation are targeted at Small and Medium Enterprises. Your completed budget spreadsheet should include details of proposed payment milestones. Should a payment at kick-off be preferred to facilitate cashflow, please request this in your application. UKSA will not agree to any payments at kick-off above 25% of total contract value.
Payment terms will be payment within 30 days of a valid invoice being accepted.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 4 Sept 2026, 15:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 24 Aug 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
UKSA is using the Jaggaer eSourcing Portal for this procurement.
All tender information and clarification questions MUST be submitted through the portal.
Please review all attached information to ensure a full understanding of this requirement. All attachments can be found in the Supplier Attachments tab within the Jaggaer eSourcing Portal.
To register on the Jaggaer eSourcing portal please use the link beisgroup.ukp.app.jaggaer.com ↗ and follow the instructions to register as a supplier.
If you are already registered on the Jaggaer eSourcing Portal and wish to participate in this procurement, please use the link: beisgroup.ukp.app.jaggaer.com ↗
Once you are logged into the system, you will be able to locate the Procurement you wish to leave a bid on by clicking the ITTs Open to All Suppliers and searching for
‘USD & NSpOC BOREALIS Resident Space Object (RSO) Characterisation Development’. The ITT reference number is itt_2755. Applications will close at 15:00 on 4 September 2026 It will not be possible to submit applications beyond this deadline.
Timeline
7 Aug 2026 → 21 Sept 2026 · 5 dates- Tender notice published80 days ago7 Aug 2026, 15:40 BST
- Clarification questions by63 days ago24 Aug 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadline52 days ago4 Sept 2026, 15:00 BST
- Contract starts36 days ago21 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
- Award decision expected by35 days ago21 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published7 Aug 2026, 15:40 BSTUK4
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Competition Brief
- Bidding documents and specifications Annex B -Contracts for Innovation Additional Guidance
- Bidding documents and specifications Annex D - IP Declaration
- Bidding documents and specifications Annex A - Contracts for Innovation Model Contract
- Bidding documents and specifications Annex C - Finance Sheet.
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender