Technology Demonstration Missions

Operational space missions, whether scientific, military, or commercial, demand reliable, high-performance solutions. The basic technologies required for true state-of-the-art performance are seldom designed for the harsh space environment. However, a technology demonstration mission based on the appropriate Surrey platform can validate key technologies in the orbital environment rapidly and affordably.

Past Surrey technology demonstration tasks have ranged from early tests on solid-state devices, through to missions such as S80/T, Clementine, and CERISE and, more recently, CFESat which validated payloads and initiated services.


Surrey's GIOVE-A mission was the technology demonstrator for ESA’s satellite-supported navigation system Test Bed, which has validated an entire navigation payload and signal structure. Surrey nanosatellites, microsatellites, and minisatellites have hosted customer technology payloads including solar cells, communications transmitters, an internet router, and a GPS receiver, as well as numerous Surrey R&D payloads.

With a rapid order-to-orbit time, Surrey provide customers with a technology demonstration mission that will rapidly reduce costs and risks for an operational program.