IT HAS been more than one small step for a space technology business which has just set two industry records.

In September, Oxford Space Systems, based on the Harwell Campus, successfully launched a special AlSat Nano satellite with a unique boom attached, just 30 months after the designs were put on the drawing board.

The AstroTube Boom was sent out into space and will deploy a magnetometer – a highly sensitive instrument to measure and map the Earth’s magnetic field.

Not only was the launch time a record, but this new technology can extend further away from the satellite than any of its predecessors, which will mean more experiments can be carried out.

Mike Lawton, founder and CEO, said: "To our knowledge, no one else has developed a product and got it to orbit so rapidly.

"It is a great validation of the skill and commitment of the OSS team and the mathematical tools that we’ve developed to speed up product development.

"I’m really proud of the team - and our investors - for believing we could develop space hardware so quickly without compromising reliability."

Launched from India, the satellite is roughly the size of a shoe box and is a collaborative programme between the UK Space Agency and Algerian Space Agency.

AlSat Nano will orbit at 690km and be operational for a year to give plenty of time for OSS to carry out an evaluation of its boom technology.

Mr Lawton added: "Our novel flexi composite boom system is the longest boom ever deployed and retracted from such a small satellite, thus setting another industry record.

"AlSat Nano is a great way for us to prove the boom material and our development tools behave in the manner predicted.

"We see AlSat as our lab bench in space; it’s helping underpin current developments for much larger boom systems for several customers."

Booms are used to deploy technology away from the satellite and OSS hopes its range of its new design will become a natural choice for the global space industry.

The European Space Agency provided funding and expertise that allowed OSS to move forward with the project.

The next OSS AstroTube boom is due for launch on a commercial mission in late summer and the company is negotiating with a number of overseas satellite builders for bigger versions of its boom technology.

Mr Lawton will be at the Cornerstone in Didcot on Tuesday, February 21 to talk all things space and show a prototype of the boom that is currently in orbit.

The talk starts at 7.30pm and will last for around 45 minutes.

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