The UK’s most successful independent satellite manufacturer has been swallowed whole by a European defence conglomerate.

Only a handful of small companies have been able to make it in the space business, and one of them was Surrey Satellite Technology Limited, based in Guilford, UK. Since its founding in 1985, SurreySat, as its employees call it, has been building so-called microsats weighing between 10-100kg. Where others have foundered, it’s succeeded: in 2006 (the last year for which stats are available) the company brought in around £20 million in revenue and generated a roughly £500,000 profit.

But SurreySat’s success was a problem for the University of Surrey, which held an 85% stake in the company. The university had supported the start-up in its early years, but wanted to divest as it grew in size.

Last year, aerospace behemoth EADS announced that it would buy the university’s stake in the company for a mere £40-50 million. That’s peanuts to the Franco-German giant, whose revenue topped €39.1 billion (with a b) in 2007. The deal has just passed muster with the European Commission, who are satisfied that competition will be unaffected by the merger.

It remains to be seen exactly what this means for Europe’s plans for its own GPS, Galileo. SurreySat and EADS had been rival bidders for the project.

credit: ESA