It has been a busy time for B&D’s satellite containers recently – whilst one was bound for Russia another was making the equally lengthy journey to the launch facility at Baikonur in Kazakhstan.

Although our bespoke containers don’t make it all the way to space themselves they do carry the precious satellites on the first part of their long journey. This initial journey from factory to launch site is a pretty dangerous one for satellites designed to operate in space and therefore the satellite containers B&D design and manufacture need to be up to the job in hand.

Thankfully, having been supplying satellite container solutions for over 20 years’ to the Space Sector, B&D not only have a highly skilled team in place but have lots of experience too. This combination provides our clients such as SSTL with the confidence to entrust their multi-million pound, technology driven, leading edge cargos to our containers. That and our excellent track record.

Now safely transported to Kazakhstan SSTL’s TechDemoSat-1 satellite has been unloaded and is being prepared for launch on 8 July 2014. It is an innovative satellite that will trial UK space technologies with the aim of winning substantial international business. It will function as an “in-orbit test facility” for innovative UK payloads and software. A large mission for a small satellite, the successful delivery and ultimate decommissioning of TechDemoSat-1 will enable UK industry and academia to qualify on board payloads and UK satellite software, thereby overcoming the problem of a lack of in orbit flight heritage that often becomes a major barrier to commercial success in the space industry.

Barum & Dewar can’t offer to get your satellite into space but we can get it safely to a suitable launch site.