GB-Swindon: UKRI-1460 Speqtre Optical Ground Station Telescope and Mount

RAL Space, part of UK Research and Innovation's (UKRI) Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has a requirement to purchase an optical ground station (OGS) telescope, automated telescope mount and control system, as part of its Speqtre project. "Speqtre", formerly known as "QKD QubeSat", is a collaboration between the Singapore and UK Governments, and could lead to a more secure online activity for consumers in everything from financial transactions to online conversations.

The deliverables that form the core requirement to be supplied under this contract are:

Deliverable-001: Telescope with sufficient collection area.

Deliverable-002: Telescope Mount with high tracking precision and 20 kg of additional payload provision.

Deliverable-003: Control System that tracks satellite passes using two line element (TLE) data, and an API to facilitate spot tracking software.

The optional purchases that may be taken up by UKRI at the point of contract placement are:

Option-001: Spot Tracking Software

The estimated value of the opportunity is: £90,000 - £120,000 excl. VAT.

The maximum available budget for this procurement, including the purchase of any options, is £120,000 excl. VAT. Any bids received which exceed the maximum budget will not be considered.

Additional information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.

An industry engagement day was held in October 2019 in relation to this requirement. Please see the Prior Information Notices on Tenders Electronic Daily and Contracts Finder for more information:

https://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:451835-2019:TEXT:EN:HTML&tabId=4

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/43221e79-0bbf-41b7-b242-c47b54f09a84?origin=SearchResults&p=1

The project has moved on significantly since the industry engagement day and information shared with those who attended or expressed an interest is considered to be outdated.