Space West Local Innovators - Joe Palmer
Welcome to Space West Local Innovators, to celebrate World Space Week, we have profiled some of the local space innovators in our region.
Through this series we'll learn about the individuals elevating the West of England's space sector to the next level.
This edition, we're shining the spotlight on Joe Palmer, Head of Space at MBDA and a member of the Space West Steering Board.
How have you and your organisation contributed to innovation within the space sector?
Innovation can come from a lot of places and one of those is looking at how similar problems have been solved in other industries. My role within MBDA UK has been to identify ways in which we can re-use our terrestrial technologies and capabilities in new ways for the space domain.
Part of that is how to ‘plug and play’ with technologies that MBDA are very good at: guidance and navigation for example. These functions, which are key to MBDA products, are also highly important in the space domain, so I look at ways we can learn from the space industry to apply them in a new way for us. The other part is the defence of space assets.
Was there a guiding vision you had within the space sector landscape that drove you to develop your technology and services into space?
In 2023 I wrote a white paper for the business outlining a vision for protecting and defending space. Over the last 3 years I have worked with our engineering and business teams to develop not just our own understanding of the sector, but the sector’s understanding of the need to defend our space assets as well.
I can look back at that white paper now and see the outline of everything we are currently doing, maintaining a space domain that we would always have access to, and freedom of action in. For me, that vision has always looked like a constellation of satellites that could defend themselves and protect each other. The ‘how’ of it has changed over time, but the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ has not.
How has the West’s space ecosystem benefitted your efforts?
It has enabled us to understand our place in the wider space industry. Coming into the cluster as a business that was brand new to space, we were not very clear who the big players were; who was showing innovative potential; and who had interest in what sub-sectors. Having spent some time engaging with the cluster network through Space West, we now understand a lot more of this.
The cluster has done an excellent job of connecting me with other organisations and individuals where we could be mutually beneficial to each other. I have been involved in several bids for government funding for really exciting innovative offerings put in by other cluster members, because of the relationships the cluster has facilitated. Without the cluster helping this probably would have taken significantly longer.
Getting more involved with the cluster management has been really useful as well. I am a member of the steering board, and helping direct the activities of the cluster in a way that best benefits the local space industry has indirectly benefited me by bringing in more talent and experience into the area. Over time, this can help support my ambitions for MBDA in space.
What does the future hold for your innovation, and what impact do you hope it will have?
Across the group, MBDA are putting together some demonstrations of interesting technologies for Space defence. Our ambition is to play a role in supporting the UK’s intent to defend our satellites, building on our expertise in complex weapons systems, and be ready to propose the solutions called for in the Defence Investment Plan.
I hope with our help the UK can be confident in its ability to defend its interests in space, protect critical national infrastructure, and sustain the billions of pounds of GDP that satellites generate every year. I also hope that, with us providing a few more tools in the toolbox, the UK will be able to take a leading role in ensuring space remains safe and sustainable for everyone.