Author: Coralinn

Craig Clark MBE, the founder and chief executive of Clyde Space, Scotland’s fast growing and first satellite company, is one of four Scottish engineers to join the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame.

He is joined by William Fairbairn, the entrepreneurial engineer who built a huge manufacturing empire in Manchester in the 19^th Century; Elijah McCoy, the son of a fugitive slave, who was sent to Scotland to be trained as an engineer; and Anne Gillespie Shaw, a pioneering production engineer practising in the 1930s to the 1970s.

Their induction follows the annual Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland (IESIS) James Watt dinner, held in Glasgow last night. (Friday 6 October, 2017)

Gordon Masterton, Chairman of Judges for the Hall of Fame, said: “We are delighted to welcome Craig into this pantheon of Scottish Engineering. His story demonstrates that Scotland is still active and successful in growing cutting-edge engineering businesses. Leading Scotland into the space age has been a phenomenal achievement. We are also delighted to see engineers like Elijah McCoy (“The Real McCoy”) and Anne Shaw who have demonstrated that having exceptional talent is more important than any other factor in making an outstanding contribution in engineering. They, like William Fairbairn and Craig Clark, are great Scottish engineers.”

Collectively, the 31 members now in the Hall of Fame tell a story of 450 years of world-beating engineering innovation that has led to massive improvements in the quality of life and economy in Scotland, the United Kingdom and world-wide.

Welcoming the announcement of the new inductees, Bryan Buchan, Chief Executive of Scottish Engineering, said: “It is wonderful to see great engineers getting recognition like this. Craig Clark has had an exemplary career and built a hugely successful business from scratch. He chose Scotland as his base for the high quality of its university education base, and Clyde Space has since formed the hub of the fast-growing sector of space technology in Scotland.”

“He rightly deserves his place in the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame.”

The Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame was launched in 2011 by The Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland (IESIS), and is supported by engineering institutions, museums and trade bodies in Scotland, including Scottish Engineering.

CLYDE SPACE, Europe’s leading manufacturer of miniature satellites, has announced a new contract to provide satellite solutions to the California space company Audacy.

The Stanford University spin-off company is developing a constellation of relay satellites to provide non-stop, real-time communications coverage for commercial customers in the space industry, with services similar to NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System.

The announcement was made as Clyde Space reinforced its reputation for innovation by successfully commissioning a ground station at its Glasgow headquarters to control and track satellites for its customers.

It coincided with a visit to Clyde Space by Glasgow Lord Provost Eva Bolander to present the company’s CEO Craig Clark with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation Category which the company won earlier this year.

The events closely follow an announcement earlier this month that it was targeting a world-first through a partnership with technology company Teledyne e2v to provide a state-of-the-art technical solution capable of creating ultra-sensitive cold atoms in space.

The Audacy network of data relay satellites will provide uninterrupted space connectivity, allowing customers to continuously access and monitor their assets in space. This enables satellite operators to obtain greater quantities of data, eliminate outages between data downlinks and significantly reduce costs.

The aim is similar to that of the telecoms industry — to better connect and provide communications services to multiple users simultaneously at competitive prices.

Clyde Space CEO Craig Clark MBE said: “Clyde Space is delighted to be supporting this forward-thinking organisation in developing their spacecraft and helping them to ultimately realise their vision of continuous space-based connectivity.

“Audacy is capitalising on a gap in the space market which will benefit organisations the world over. This is an exciting project and one which is helping to innovate the space industry.”

Sam Avery, co-founder and Head of Spacecraft Integration at Audacy, added: “Clyde Space’s wealth of experience with small satellites and strong engineering support are a huge help as Audacy develops its pioneering communications terminal demonstration mission.”

The addition of the ground station at its Glasgow base means Clyde Space is now a ‘one-stop shop’ with the ability to build sophisticated and complex satellites and then monitor them throughout their journey through space.

Craig said: “There’s been a big demand for us to operate our satellites as well as manufacture them. Our new ground station, built with the support of Scottish Enterprise, not only adds to the Glasgow skyline but forms part of our satellite service package. It’s one of many milestones for 2017, set to be our most exciting year yet.”

The installation means the company, which as well as winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise and scooping the Sunday Times-Lloyds Banking Group’s prestigious SME Export Track 100 award for innovation this year, strengthens its pre-and post-mission service to its growing, global list of clients.

Lord Provost Bolander said:  it was “a privilege and pleasure” to present the Queen’s Award for Innovation to Clyde Space.

She said it was “a company that’s out of this world providing highly technical and specialised services”.

“The company’s vision, knowledge and superb customer service has seen overseas sales increase significantlyThat’s a stratospheric achievement and a very strong performance in this growing sector in Glasgow.

“Scotland has a proud reputation for innovation and technical knowledge. Everyone at Clyde Space should be thrilled at this Royal recognition.”

Built with the aid of a Scottish Enterprise SMART grant, the ground station is on the roof of Clyde Space headquarters at Skypark 5 in central Glasgow.

Its location provides an unobstructed sky view which will maximise monitoring of satellite pass times. It will be the control centre for future CubeSats built by the pioneering Scottish space technology specialists.

The key functions on the latest addition to the city’s skyline will be to control and operate the satellites, supporting each specific space mission and to develop understanding and knowledge for inflight testing.

As every satellite is different because of orbit positioning or bespoke configurations for mission requirements, the ground station is highly flexible and will be able to track several satellites at one time. Communication with them will depend on their orbit cycles and the monitoring will be carried out by existing highly-trained Clyde Space staff.

Over the last few years Clyde Space has invested in product and process development, put in place world class assembly and test facilities at its Glasgow headquarters and announced international expansion plans.

Clyde Space is the only dedicated CubeSat supplier in the United Kingdom and now supports, in some form, 40% of all CubeSat missions.

Programmes on board the satellites, which are about the size of a whisky box, are almost unlimited. They include infrastructure monitoring, disaster management, weather and climate data, mapping and even the movement of fish across the oceans.

UKube-1, Scotland’s first satellite, was designed and built by Clyde Space in Glasgow and launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, in 2014 and the UKube programme is a strategically important part of the UK Government’s Innovative Growth Strategy for Space

Clyde Space is backed by Scottish investment companies Coralinn LLP and Nevis Capital.

CLYDE SPACE, Europe’s leading manufacturer of miniature satellites, has announced a partnership with conglomerate Teledyne e2v to deliver a world-first in satellite technology.

Craig Clark MBE, Clyde Space CEO, said in conjunction with Teledyne e2v: “We will create a new wave of space applications.”

With a high-tech solution provided by Clyde Space, the project team led by Teledyne e2v working with research partner the University of Birmingham, is using quantum technology to provide a state-of-the-art technical solution capable of creating ultra-sensitive ‘cold atoms’ in space.

Applications for instruments based on this technology include more accurate monitoring of changes in polar ice mass, ocean currents and sea level, the ability to monitor underground water resources  and discover new underground natural resource deposits which are currently not detectable. The technology will also be used for deep space navigation and for providing higher precision timing sources in space.

Laboratory experiments have shown cold atoms can be used as ultra-sensitive sensors capable of mapping tiny changes in the strength of gravity across the earth’s surface.

That will now be replicated in space through the Clyde Space-Teledyne e2v partnership with the Cold Atom Space Payload (CASPA) mission, the world’s first free-flying on-orbit demonstration for cold atom based science missions. It paves the way for cold atom instruments to be used in space.

Craig said: “Pioneering innovative solutions is at the core of everything we do. We are always pushing the boundaries of what is possible with small spacecraft, as are Teledyne e2v with quantum technology.

“Our customers have ambitious missions for an ever-expanding range of applications. It’s our job to enable the realisation of their pursuits, through the provision of highly progressive nanosatellite capabilities.

“We are delighted to provide our technical solution in support of Teledyne e2v’s vision for the commercialisation of quantum technologies. We are constantly innovating, it has been our focus since day one and it’s a big part of the reason for our success.”

The revolutionary technology is based on new developments in quantum technology which have resulted in the ability to cool atoms close to absolute zero making the cold atoms ultra-sensitive and capable of mapping tiny changes in the strength of gravity across the surface of the earth.

Trevor Cross, ‎Group Chief Technology Officer at Teledyne e2v, commented: “Quantum technology is giving us new abilities in a wide range of markets and applications.

“Our partnership with Clyde Space is representative of the collaboration required to commercialise the technology and really maximise the benefits of Quantum in industry. We are so pleased that the new Clyde Space 6U platform is gaining further traction in the marketplace.”

The CASPA mission is the latest project to recognise Clyde Space’s leading-edge CubeSat technology and the far-reaching impact it has had in making satellites more accessible and affordable.

Its success earned it the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation Category earlier this year.

Clyde Space is backed by Scottish investment companies Coralinn LLP and Nevis Capital.

CLYDE Space, Europe’s leading manufacturer of miniature satellites, has won its second award for innovation in less than a month.

The Glasgow-based company has scooped the Sunday Times prestigious SME Export Track 100 award for innovation, sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group, just weeks after being given the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the innovation category.

Clyde Space chief executive Craig Clark said he was “delighted” at the recognition of the achievements by the company and its staff.

He said: “Innovation is at the forefront of everything we do at Clyde Space. Our business is based on the provision of cutting-edge products for the fast-growing small satellite sector.  Clyde Space is widely considered as the industry’s Quality Innovator, meaning that we are able to balance the introduction of new ideas and technologies into our products while maintaining the quality of design and production expected of something that needs to operate in the harsh environment of space for many years.  Our approach to innovation is enabling a range of exciting commercial and science applications of space .”

Craig, who was made an MBE for services to innovation and technology, added: “Last year Glasgow produced more than 60 satellites, more than any other city outside of Silicon Valley.  This is as a direct result of investing heavily in the development of new products and production capabilities, including the design and launch of world’s most advanced nanosatellite and a nanosatellite assembly line.”

Clyde Space products have established an impressive reputation since the company was founded in 2005. It has earned a world-wide recognition for excellence as a small spacecraft systems provider following the launch of Scotland’s first spacecraft, a CubeSat for the UK Space Agency, in July 2014. The spacecraft was the first of its kind to be commissioned by the UK Space Agency and has since successfully completed its mission.

Clyde Space was listed in February on The Sunday Times SME Export Track 100 league table which ranks Britain’s 100 small and medium-sized (SME) companies with the fastest-growing international sales over the latest two years. It was also shortlisted for the Financial Times Boldness in Business Awards 2017, the HSBC Scottish Export Awards 2017 and won the Glasgow Business Award for Innovation in 2016.

The latest award was presented at a ceremony in London to Clyde Space Non-Executive Chairman Will Whitehorn, a former President of Virgin Galactic, by Tim Hinton of Lloyds banking Group.

Speaking at the presentation, Will said: “Almost everything that’s happening at the moment, in terms of industrial development in Silicon Valley, has got an eye to space. It is the place where most things we are doing now are happening. As  it is getting much cheaper to access space technology, almost every big company within ten years will hope to have a satellite, and hopefully Clyde Space will be involved in making them.”

Clyde Space is backed by Scottish investment companies Coralinn LLP and Nevis Capital.

A NEW development of affordable housing in Carluke built by Rosewood Homes has been formally handed over to Clyde Valley Housing Association.

The £2.6million development on the site of the old Carluke Rovers stadium at Shieldhill Road comprises five blocks of nineteen two bedroom and six one bedroom properties.

Keys to the development, which was  completed ahead of schedule, were handed over to Clyde Valley Housing Association’s clerk of works Graham Morrison by Rosewood Homes Construction Director Lou Lauder.

Lou, from Carluke, said: “We are delighted to have continued our partnership with Clyde Valley Housing Association in the project which will provide much-needed, high quality new homes in Carluke.

“We have an excellent relationship with Clyde Valley Housing Association and we currently have two other projects in Carluke and Larkhall with them already confirmed. Work on them will start in the near future.”

Campbell Boyd, chairman of Clyde Valley Housing Association, said: “It is very pleasing to be working with our partners at Rosewood Homes and see the positive outcomes and our ambitions to address the demand for high quality affordable social housing being realised.

“The board of the association is committed to meeting the significant demand for housing need and growing our housing stock with high-quality, energy-efficient properties

“All in all, our aim is to offer a complete package to our customers, providing them with great homes in a pleasant environment and in which they can take pride and enjoy living and this is definitely the case at this new estate in Carluke.”

Rosewood Homes now move on to two other projects in Carluke with building on 12 luxury flats starting in March on the site of the old Welfare Hall at Sandy Road and an application for planning permission submitted for six luxury detached houses at Luggie Road.

Lou added: “As well as affordable, social housing there is a need for high-quality private housing in Carluke and the surrounding area and we have established a reputation for delivering high-end workmanship over many years.

“Because of that the Sandy Road and Luggie Road projects are already attracting attention from potential buyers.”

SCOTLAND’S pioneering spacecraft manufacturer, Clyde Space, has signed a contract with Canadian satellite communications services company, Kepler Communications to supply two 3U spacecraft. These spacecraft will launch Kepler’s novel Software Defined Radio (SDR) and antenna array next year.

The Clyde Space nanosatellites will support Kepler in deploying its in-space telecommunications network, which will use nanosatellites to relay data in real-time for devices deployed in terrestrial, remote operations and satellites deployed in Low Earth Orbit.

The company said the contract marked “a milestone in Kepler Communication’s long-term vision to provide real-time connectivity for the devices that gather the world’s information.” The network is expected to reduce reliance on costly, difficult to deploy, ground infrastructure and increase our global interconnectivity at a fraction of the normal cost.

Data generated from the satellites will have a range of applications from intelligent shipping to smart agriculture, traffic management and even wearable technologies such as temperature monitors to improve personnel health and safety.

Clyde Space CEO Craig Clark said: “Kepler is a great example of the kind of forward thinking, innovative organization that we love to work with.  They have a fantastic concept for solving problems of low latency, reliable machine-to-machine communications and we are absolutely delighted that Kepler has selected Clyde Space to help realize their objectives.”

Kepler co-founder and CEO Mina Mitry added: “We are excited to work with Clyde Space. Their reputation and experience in the space industry, plus their ability to meet challenging onboard power system requirements within our projected timelines, made them the perfect partner for this venture.”

The Kepler network, powered by the Clyde Space nanosatellites, will open new business opportunities that necessitate real-time connectivity to satellites. The satellites, which measure 30cmx10cmx10cm, support an increasing range of new and technically challenging space applications.

The spacecraft will be built and tested by Clyde Space in Glasgow for delivery next autumn. Developments by Clyde Space in spacecraft production are making the prospect of missions requiring constellations of small satellites and CubeSats a reality. Currently, Clyde Space produces an average of six satellites each month for a range of customers world-wide and is pursuing an expansion in the United States.

ROSEWOOD HOMES today (Monday) announced that building work has started on the £3million Blairtum Park Development in Burnside which was delayed after vandals set fire to the historic Blairtum House.

Lou Lauder, the building company’s Construction Director, said essential work to clear the site of debris and make it safe following the arson attack in May had now been completed and conversion of the C-listed sandstone building and the construction of four luxury villas was under way.

Mr Lauder said: “We’re back on track and are on schedule to have the project finished by July next year. We’re building luxury flats and properties which will breathe new life into an outstanding, historic location.”

The renovated Blairtum House will be converted into a three-bedroom penthouse and two, three-bedroom luxury flats while the other area of the development will feature four, five-bedroom villas.

Prices range from £388,000 to £499,000 and more information can be found at blairtumpark.co.uk or at estate agents Allen and Harris.

Mr Lauder said: “Unfortunately the fire delayed the project slightly but we’re delighted we’ve now started the building work on a development which will provide much-needed, attractive housing for this area.

He added: “We’d like to thank South Lanarkshire council who have been hugely supportive from the very early stages of the development, the planning process and throughout the delay caused by the fire.”

Clyde Space, the pioneering company which designed and manufactured Scotland’s first spacecraft, has announced two major appointments to its management team including the former President of Virgin Galactic.

Industry veteran, Will Whitehorn, who had a long career with Virgin and is currently Deputy Chairman of Stagecoach Group PLC, joins as Non-Executive Chairman. Jennifer Riddell-Dillet, a Senior Executive with multinational experience leading and developing business teams, becomes Chief Operating Officer.

Clyde Space CEO, Craig Clark, said Will and Jennifer added a vast array of world-wide business and technology experience to Clyde Space at a critical time in the company’s growth.

He said they were key appointments to the rapidly-growing company’s long term business strategy to maintain their market lead and he expected them “to bring an energy and experience which, combined with the company’s vision, will strike a synergy that will help build on current commercial success, both domestically and internationally”.

He added: “I am delighted to welcome on-board two key additions to the Clyde Space team. Our team are our greatest asset and their skills and commitment make us a world leading provider of small spacecraft.

“Will’s experience will help develop Clyde Space as an innovative global brand. This, coupled with Jennifer’s extensive experience of modern manufacturing best practice, represents significant added value to Clyde Space as we transition the company to support the growing market demands for production of high volumes of advanced small spacecraft.”

As president of Virgin Galactic, Will established the project to build the world’s first human passenger-carrying commercial spacecraft. He was also brand development and corporate affairs director of Virgin Management from 1987-2007 during which time he helped grow the Virgin brand globally and acted as a spokesman for Sir Richard Branson. Will is a Fellow of The Royal Aeronautical Society and holder of the 2010 Geoffrey Pardoe Space Award for his significant contribution to the industry

As well as his current post with Stagecoach Group PLC, Will is also Chairman of the SECC & SSE Hydro in Glasgow, and has a portfolio of other well-known companies and organisations where he is either Chairman or Non-Executive Director including recent UK Stock Market success story, Purplebricks Group PLC.

He said: “Three things that I love amongst many are Space, Technology and Transportation. Clyde Space combines all three and is building some of the coolest, smallest and sexiest spacecraft in the world at the moment. I’m really looking forward to joining Craig, Jennifer and the team in building a world-class global business based in Glasgow, a world class city.”

Jennifer joins Clyde Space from advanced optical product specialists Daysoft where she was Managing Director and also has wide experience with other companies where she was charged with implementing strategic direction and sales growth.

She said: “Joining Clyde Space at this stage of the organisation’s growth is a fantastic opportunity. The future of the nano/small satellite market and the levels of growth offers me and the team some of the most exciting opportunities a manufacturer could hope for.”

Craig added: “Clyde Space is already a rapidly growing $10 million dollar company and our ambition is to secure a significant share of the $2.2 billion dollar small satellite market.

“Over the last few years we have invested in product and process development, expanded our team, put in place world class assembly and test facilities and announced our international expansion plans.

“We currently have more than 80 staff and are growing at rate of over 50% per year. This increase is fuelled by an increasing number and size of orders, which is typically a mix of subsystem orders and full missions.

“For example, there are currently an average of six spacecraft per month being produced in our cleanroom. Over 80% of our orders come from out with Europe, half of which are from US based organisations.  This in turn has influenced our need to internationalise. The addition of Will and Jennifer to the team will be critical to ensuring we can expand quickly enough to meet the pace of market growth.”

With a record number of new orders won in the last 12 months, such as Outernet, a multi-spacecraft mission to demonstrate free data broadcast with US broadcast company Outernet Inc, and the recently announced In-orbit Demonstration programme for the Satellite Applications Catapult, the company is moving from strength-to-strength.

Clyde Space are delighted they’ve managed to bring the space industry to Scotland, the hidden gem of the UK’s economy and which is anticipated to be worth £40 billion to the UK economy by 2030.

Clyde Space has earned a world-wide reputation for excellence since designing and manufacturing Scotland’s first spacecraft, a CubeSat for the UK Space Agency, which was launched in July 2014.

Heavily investing in capability over recent years, the company is developing a CubeSat ground-station, with the support of a Scottish Enterprise R&D grant, which will shortly be installed in the heart of Glasgow. This will be used to control Clyde Space satellites in low earth orbit and enable the company to provide end-to-end mission solutions for their customers.

In addition, the company has installed vibration and thermal vacuum test facilities at its headquarters in Glasgow, enabling spacecraft to complete the full design, build and test cycle.

Further information on the company’s much anticipated US expansion will be released later this year.

Clyde Space is backed by private equity specialists Coralinn LLP, the investment vehicle of leading Scottish entrepreneur Hugh Stewart OBE.

Works at an affordable housing development in Carluke are progressing well as the development starts to take shape. Shieldhill Road, led by main contractor Rosewood Homes, comprises six one bedroom and nineteen two bedroom homes that will be available for affordable rent and managed by Clyde Valley Housing Association.

CCG OSM has manufactured, supplied and installed an enhanced panel timber system for the construction, contributing to a significantly reduced build time with full completion expected in December of this year.

CCG OSM Managing Director, Steven Earlie, said, “We are proud to be working with Rosewood Homes in delivering much need affordable housing for the area of Carluke. The enhanced system used for the project is a similar product that Clyde Valley Housing Association have used on many different projects that have been delivered through our parent company, CCG, across Lanarkshire, ensuring on-site and environmental efficiencies.”

http://c-c-g.co.uk/affordable-housing-project-in-carluke-is-starting-to-take-shape/

Blairtum Park is a development of 5 bedroom executive homes and luxury 3 bedroom apartments within the grounds of the iconic Blairtum House.

Blairtum House is an iconic “C listed” Victorian sandstone villa dating back to 1878. Complete with Scots baronial features and stood within 1.55 acres of grounds, the house offers a spectacular conversion comprising of 2 sizable apartments and an impressive penthouse.

A pillared entrance and sweeping driveway leads the way to this stunning development which also offers a woodland walk and private grounds.

Incorporating eco-design principles, the new built houses offer modern, energy efficient living in keeping with the green surroundings.

Photovoltaic panels to the roof of each house provides clean renewable energy to run both the underfloor heating and efficient electric boilers, while high performance aluminium windows and doors coupled with thermal insulation reduce heat losses.

The contemporary design is consistent throughout with modern, quality kitchens provided by Porcelanosa and contemporary staircases incorporating glass or timber balustrades.

Additionally, all houses comply with Credia Smart Home standard (type 2).