SmallSpark secures six-figure MoD contract

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SmallSpark Space Systems has secured a development contract with the UK Ministry of Defence to use its Moore.AI technology for development of novel solid rocket motor configurations.

Joseph Ward, SmallSpark CEO & director of propulsion, and Saif Al-Ibadi, director of AI & optimisation technologies
Joseph Ward, SmallSpark CEO & director of propulsion, and Saif Al-Ibadi, director of AI & optimisation technologies - SmallSpark Space Systems

The contract was secured via the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) and has been announced as one of the first to explore the direct application of AI-based assistive tools to engineers in the defence industry for tackling novel problems without historical datasets.

Worth £292,565.75, the contract within DASA’s Rapid Innovation Cycle will see Moore.AI’s optimisation technologies adapted to tackle instabilities identified within the early stages of solid rocket motor design. SmallSpark believes the project has the potential to radically alter traditional approaches to developing complex engineering systems.

The Cardiff based aerospace and space tech company is set to double the size of its software and technology demonstration teams, along with investing in additional in-house infrastructure and capabilities.

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“Moore.AI is an extremely powerful technology that aims to change the way we think about and approach systems engineering and design,” said Joseph Ward, SmallSpark CEO and director of propulsion.

“Our goal is to improve engineers’ productivity by helping them avoid arduous manual design iteration. The development process for a rocket motor for use by the MoD can take upwards of ten years; we're aiming to reduce that by 25- 50 per cent by utilising novel, carefully constructed optimisation technologies, developed here at SmallSpark for our own space systems.”

Originally developed with Research England backing in collaboration with Southampton University, Moore.AI has only publicly been used for aerodynamic design optimisation until now.

The project sees SmallSpark return to the Westcott Venture Park, testing a range of solid rocket motor design architectures. The team historically had a presence at the Westcott Venture Park working on the demonstration and continued test campaign of its S4-HIVE rocket engines.