Northern Space and Security Ltd is a UK company committed to safeguarding space sustainability, providing cutting-edge services to space missions.
Northern Space and Security Ltd (NORSS) is the UK’s only commercial company dedicated solely to space sustainability through providing end to end Space Situational Awareness (SSA), from Space Surveillance and Tracking through expert analysis to space environment safety and risk management.
Founded in 2017 as a consultancy project by Ralph “Dinz” Dinsley, a retired RAF officer with more than 32 years in military service as an Aerospace Battle Manager, their mission is to empower success through opportunities in outer space, supporting the industry and academic use of space, and helping governments manage space through unmatched access to data and experience of space.
NORSS is committed to safeguarding the space environment and is an active promoter for its sustainability so that it can continue to be used safely by future generations.
Based in the northeast of England, NORSS is harnessing its collective expertise to become world leading providers in SSA information. In just four years, the company has grown from an SSA consultancy to be the UK’s premier end-to-end provider of information on objects in near Earth orbit. From its LOCI system (LEO Optical Camera Installation), supported at Kielder Observatory, collecting data on objects in low earth orbit to the processing and distribution of a finished product, NORSS is leading the way in developing the necessary experience in the UK to support the long term sustainability of space operations, ensuring that necessary experience will be developed for now and to support the future.
Collectively, the key partners – Ralph “Dinz” Dinsley, Sean Goldsbrough, and Dr Adam E White – possess more than 50 years of SSA experience from across government, academic, commercial, and military space and are dedicated to developing that experience and expertise across the young, bright engineers at NORSS. They are leading the charge to balance education and experience across their team to tackle the current problems within SSA and to help the UK lead in future sustainable practices to ensure the benefits from space continue long into the future.
The company supports a number of contracts with the UK government providing technical experience for space surveillance and tracking, space safety and regulation alongside the development of a commercial operations centre to support academic and commercial space requirements.
With a global reach and a range of international collaborators, Dinz, Adam, Sean and the team are bringing both experience and innovation to help users of space truly understand the performance of their assets. NORSS is the only company in the UK with an Orbital Analyst apprenticeship to ensure understanding begins early and develops rapidly. As society becomes ever more reliant on space, NORSS provides unparalleled levels of analysis on every aspect of the orbital environment. Given the significant amount of technical resources and analytical insight within NORSS, it is no idle boast when they say, ‘If it is up there, we will find it.’
Watch the NORSS promotional video here: “We are Northern Space and Security”
AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
- Space Situational Awareness (SSA)
- Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST)
- Orbital Analysis
- Sensor Operations, Development and Interconnectivity
- Space Law and Policy
- Programme and Risk Management
- Space Traffic Management
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
- Space Sustainability
- LEO Optical Camera Installation
- Space Law and Policy
- Space Situational Awareness (SSA)
- Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST)
