A new UK satellite is about to launch, wearing the latest in high鈥憈ech knitwear. Called CarbSAR, it is due to go into orbit on Sunday, where it will deploy a mesh radar antenna produced on a machine more commonly found in a textiles factory.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very standard, off鈥憈he鈥憇helf industrial machine used for knitting jumpers. All we鈥檝e done is add some bells and whistles to let it stitch our special yarns,鈥� says , production lead at Oxford Space Systems (OSS) in the UK.
The company has partnered with another UK-based firm, Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), to mount the antenna onto a small, inexpensive spacecraft capable of capturing high鈥憆esolution images of Earth鈥檚 surface.
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If it performs as expected, a similar novel design will be adopted for a network of surveillance satellites for the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) later this decade.
The 鈥渨ool鈥� in OSS鈥檚 knitting process is an ultra鈥慺ine tungsten wire coated in gold. The company鈥檚 machine turns out metres of fabric at a time. These mesh sheets can be cut into pizza slice-shaped pieces and sewn together to form a 3-millimetre-thick disc that, when stretched tightly over 48 carbon鈥慺ibre ribs, becomes a smooth parabolic dish ideal for radar imaging.
A key innovation lies in the way each rib is wound radially around a central hub for launch, like 48 coiled builder鈥檚 tape measures. They allow the entire structure to collapse to a diameter of just 75 cm. This wrapped鈥憆ib design dramatically reduces the volume the 140-kilogram CarbSAR satellite would otherwise occupy at the top of its rocket.
Once released into orbit, the strain energy stored in the bent carbon fibre drives the ribs to snap back into a straightened configuration, pulling the mesh into place to form the parabolic dish.
鈥淏ut for the imaging we want to do, we also need to unfurl with precision 鈥� to get that perfect parabolic shape,鈥� says , OSS鈥檚 chief executive. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 the beauty of our design.鈥� Testing shows that, across the antenna, the mesh sheets remain within a millimetre of the ideal shape.
Earth observation with small radar satellites is booming. The technology鈥檚 ability to image the ground in all weather conditions, and even at night, has been championed by a slew of new space companies.
Their data has found particular favour with militaries around the world and has played a major intelligence role in the Russia-Ukraine war.
But despite leading the development of space radar in Europe in the 1990s, the UK has largely been left behind by international competition.
CarbSAR, and a future MoD constellation called Oberon 鈥� which is part of a broader programme named ISTARI 鈥� offer British aerospace engineers a chance to reassert themselves.
鈥淲e鈥檙e getting a lot of interest from foreign governments about the possibility of providing a radar concept for them,鈥� says , SSTL鈥檚 managing director. 鈥淥bviously, the first thing we need to do is deploy this antenna and prove we can take an image.鈥�
The expectation is that CarbSAR will see objects down to about 50 cm in size, which is more than sufficient to make out tanks and planes.
When the antenna is deployed about two days after launch, UK Space Command 鈥� which is overseen by the Royal Air Force 鈥� will be watching closely.
鈥淐arbSAR is a testament to the innovation and collaboration of one of the UK鈥檚 most forward鈥憈hinking space companies,鈥� says Major General Paul Tedman, commander of UK Space Command.
鈥淪pace Command is excited to see CarbSAR in action and to explore how its advanced instruments can be integrated into Oberon and our wider ISTARI satellite programme.鈥�
Article amended on 12 January 2026
This article has been updated to correct the thickness of CarbSAR鈥檚 disc.
