Inside the Satellite Applications Catapult: Joaquin Perez-Grande on Supporting Startups and Real-World Space Challenges
Joaquin Perez-Grande on How the Satellite Applications Catapult Accelerates Space Startup Growth and Business Development
This interview highlights how the Satellite Applications Catapult is reshaping business development for space startups. Rather than relying only on traditional accelerator programmes, the Satellite Applications Catapult is experimenting with challenge-based programmes that connect startups directly with real industry problems—helping them scale while solving concrete issues for large organisations or government departments. Alongside this, the Satellite Applications Catapult supports other UK and ESA-backed accelerators, offering structured funding, mentoring, and technical guidance.
Joaquin Perez-Grande, Space Ecosystem Manager at the Satellite Applications Catapult, explains how these different support streams work in practice, how companies are selected, and what criteria determine whether a startup is ready to enter a programme. He also outlines the Satellite Applications Catapult’s wider role in de-risking projects, lowering barriers to entry, and mapping capabilities across the global space ecosystem. For founders and investors alike, the interview provides a closer look at how accelerators in the UK space sector are evolving into engines of business growth and international collaboration.
Let’s dive into our chat:
Given the variety of programmes and support streams you offer, who is eligible to participate in your accelerator or challenge-based programmes?
Currently, we don’t run a traditional accelerator programme ourselves, but we are moving toward a challenge-based approach, where we work with large organisations or government departments that have a specific problem to solve using space technology. We then select a number of companies to work with and help identify the best solution, essentially running a mini accelerator for that purpose. We don’t provide direct funding per se, but we put together a programme of work tailored to each company’s needs—for example, helping a company become investment-ready and supporting them through that process.
Instead of supporting startups just to grow, they tackle real-world problems for large organisations or government departments. For example, if a rail operator wants to use satellite data to optimise maintenance, Satellite Applications Catapult runs a targeted programme to find the best solution—helping startups scale while solving concrete industry challenges.
Satellite Applications Catapult collaborates with the UK Space Agency Accelerator, which has three tiers of programmes — from early-stage ideas to companies ready to raise Series A — and we support them ad hoc. Beyond structured programmes, we provide direct business, technical, and financial support to selected companies. Because demand in the sector is high, we pre-select companies with the highest potential or fastest growth for support, which is fully funded by our own resources — companies do not need to pay to participate. For UK-based support, applicants must be UK-registered, as these programmes use UK government funding.
In addition, we run an ESA-backed accelerator as part of the Business in Space Growth Network (BSGN), focused on commercialising microgravity applications. This programme has three streams: health and pharma, agritech, and advanced materials. Currently, we are running the advanced materials accelerator in its second phase, while funding is ESA-provided.
With such a range of programmes and support streams, how do you determine which type of support or programme is most suitable for a particular startup?
Essentially, we first try to understand what the startup might need to grow, and then we design a programme to help develop their business.
The nuance is that the company doesn’t have to be big yet. Sometimes it’s just a startup with two people and an early-stage technology. What matters most is the potential to grow, which comes from a strong team and a large market.
Alignment with our focus areas is also crucial. We typically work with companies in sustainability, connectivity, autonomy, or beyond-Earth activity.
Of course, there are other criteria, but these are deal breakers: a strong team, a large market, alignment with our vision, and innovative technology. For example, a startup could have significant funding, but if the team is weak, that would be a major concern for us.
Strong team, big market potential, and tech alignment are key to getting support to scale.
Given the factors you mentioned—team strength, market potential, and alignment with focus areas—what specific metrics do you use to evaluate startups, and how can they know if they might be a good fit for your programmes?
We use a framework that looks at multiple aspects of a startup. First, we assess whether they are customer-ready—essentially, how prepared they are for adoption by their target market. We also evaluate the technology itself: how mature it is and whether it’s viable.
Next, we look at the business model: is it solid and scalable? We consider intellectual property, making sure they own their IP and have it protected. The team is also critical—we want to see strong, capable founders. Then there’s funding: have they raised capital already, and are they ready to raise more?
Finally, we look at alignment with our organisation, the size of their market, and their level of innovation. Because we are an innovative organisation, we focus on startups that bring innovative solutions to large markets, particularly within the space sector.
Startups are evaluated holistically, focusing on customer readiness, technology, business model, team, funding, market size, innovation, and alignment with the organisation’s goals.
It’s worth noting that not every great company fits our programme. Some startups may not want to scale beyond a small team, and that’s perfectly fine. But the UK government’s goal, and our mandate as a Catapult, is to focus on companies with the potential for high growth.
Overall, we score startups across these variables, and this framework guides which programmes they might enter. It’s a consistent approach we apply across our initiatives.
Success alone isn’t enough—fit is determined by growth potential, and a structured framework ensures startups are matched to the right programmes.
Considering how you evaluate startups across multiple factors, which thematic or application areas within SpaceTech do you primarily focus on?
We work with companies across several areas: space data—primarily Earth Observation (EO), Propulsion & Transportation (P&T), satcoms, ISAM (In-Space Servicing, Assembly & Manufacturing), and Space Domain Awareness.
These categories are broad. For example, within ISAM, we might work with a pharmaceutical company looking to develop products in microgravity, even if they aren’t traditionally a space company. Similarly, we could support a local authority wanting to strengthen GNSS resilience—they’re not a space company either, but they have a relevant space application.
So, while we focus on these five core technology areas, we remain quite open and agnostic when it comes to the type of company, as long as their work aligns with the UK space strategy.
Work spans core SpaceTech areas but remains open to any company with relevant space applications that align with the UK space strategy.
With such a broad focus, how do your accelerator programs differ from your standard business development support for startups?
Our accelerator programme works like a standard startup accelerator. We start with a selection phase, where we invite companies to submit an expression of interest. From those applications, we down-select the most promising startups—this year, we’ll be working with three companies.
Each selected company receives €400,000 in funding alongside tailored support from the Catapult. They can be hosted anywhere in ESA member states, and the funding is typically used to invest in their product development, guided by our advice and expertise.
The key difference from our regular business development support is that the accelerator is more structured: it’s a defined programme with funding, mentoring, and clear milestones, whereas our standard business development is more flexible and tailored to each company’s specific growth needs.
Beyond business growth and accelerator support, is there anything else you’d like to share about the other ways you support startups?
Our work is very much focused on helping companies scale their business. Beyond direct support, we help organisations—government departments, large corporations, and smaller entities—understand the space sector and its supply chain.
A big part of this is capability mapping. We maintain a Space Capability Catalogue, a free, searchable database of every company, university, and facility we know of in the space sector. This allows users to understand the supply chain, see what research is happening, and identify where they can test equipment.
While this resource started in the UK, we also map space sectors in other countries like Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Africa. We use a consistent taxonomy across all countries, so companies can compare supply chains internationally, identify export/import opportunities, and explore potential collaborations.
The Space Capability Catalogue is a free platform that maps the space sector, making it easy to explore supply chains, find partners, and compare capabilities worldwide.
For example, a user can search for specific capabilities—like an antenna company near Newcastle—and see detailed profiles including company size, products, services, and financial data from public sources like Companies House. Larger companies, such as Airbus, can also be viewed, including their turnover, employees, and operations in space.
Crucially, this data also underpins our place-based approach to the growth of the UK Space Ecosystem. By combining capability insights with regional context, we help local authorities, devolved administrations, and regional clusters understand their local space economy—its strengths, challenges, and opportunities. This ensures that growth is not only national but distributed and sustainable across the UK’s nations and regions.
This tool allows both global comparisons and local insight, helping users filter by industry segments, like sustainable finance, and see which companies are active in that area in the UK versus other countries. It’s a powerful way to support growth, identify gaps, and facilitate collaborations in the space ecosystem.
great interview!