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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Habitable Worlds Observatory Detector

THE OPEN UNIVERSITY · Contract details notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 24 Sept 2026, 09:52.

Opportunity overview

Habitable Worlds Observatory Detector. Qualification testing of bespoke CIS300 series UVIS detectors. This work is being performed under the remit of a UK Space Agency (UKSA) research grant, with costs for the procurement of this equipment specifically stated within the UKRI offer letter. This phase of work being performed by the OU is taking place in the broader context of a NASA led mission (HWO). The critical success factors for this phase of the activity are completion/delivery of the following items by 31/02/2027: CIS303-33: o Part thinning (to pre-AR coat) of 6 off wafers. Each wafer has 4 (unyielded) devices on it. o 8 Invar PCB packages • CIS303-66 o Part thinning (to pre-AR coat) of 4 off wafers. Each wafer has 1 (unyielded) device on it. o 4 Silicon Carbide Packages. • Back-thinning report • CIS300 test equipment o latest build standard of the Te2v CEB. o Interconnect board. o Flex rigid PCB. • FPGA update o As the requirements for this update are unknown a nominal number has been assumed, once the requirements are confirmed this cost may increase or reduce. Phase 2 would follow on to 31/03/2030, if required.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

Teledyne UK Limited

Matched by exact name
Contract value
£585k
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
31 Aug 2026
Including VAT
£702k
Award ID
1
Status
active
Identifier
GB-PPON PGJG-9843-DPVL
Location
Chelmsford, UKH36, CM1 2QU, United Kingdom

Classification

No classification was supplied.

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
OUPA11762
Status
complete
Procurement Method
direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Why this procedure was chosen
Prototypes and development The public contract concerns the production of a prototype, or supply of other novel goods or services, for the purpose of— (a) testing the suitability of the goods or services, (c) other research, experiment, study or development. Single suppliers The following conditions are met in relation to the public contract— (a) due to an absence of competition for technical reasons, only a particular supplier can supply the goods, services or works required, and (b) there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works. The Open University (OU) has been awarded research grant funding via the UK Space Agency (UKSA) for the NASA Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) mission. For this, bespoke CIS300 series UVIS detectors from Teledyne e2v Ltd need to be procured along with associated test equipment for space qualification and radiation effect testing. These specific detectors were initially procured as part of an earlier phase of work for the Canadian Space Agency's Cosmological Advanced Survey Telescope for Optical and UV Research (CASTOR) mission. The work of the current and future planned phases for the HWO mission is a continuation of the work initially completed for the Canadian CASTOR mission which was testing the same technology. The OU’s continued inclusion in the HWO mission was subject to funding awarded by the UKSA and they have agreed to increase funding (FY26-27) for the OU to procure more Teledyne-e2v CIS300 detectors and test equipment for the mission. The funding agency’s request is specifically for the OU to continue the testing of this specific detector. As this is a continuation of work already being undertaken and it is specific equipment, it is not possible to procure the necessary items from any supplier other than Teledyne e2v Ltd. The project is split into two stages. Stage 1 is for existing detectors to be back thinned and made ready for packaging, and testing for future space missions, specifically HWO. It is planned for 01/09/2026 – 31/03/2027 with a value of £702,000 including VAT and is confirmed. Stage 2 would be a larger project to use the outcome of the testing from stage 1 to make changes to the design of the detectors. Following this, the newly designed detectors would be manufactured, back thinned, surface coated and packaged. It is provisionally planned for 01/04/2027 – 31/03/2030 with an estimated value of £1,902,000 including VAT and is subject to funding and the successful completion of stage 1.

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Procedure reasons

Entry 1
Id
singleSuppliersUniqueWorkArtPerformance
Entry 2
Id
additionalRepeatExtensionPartialReplacement

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
complete

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
conflictOfInterest
Document Type
conflictOfInterest
Description
Not published

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
Id
GB-CHC-RC000391

Identifier

Scheme
GB-CHC
Id
RC000391

Address

Street Address
Walton Hall
Locality
Milton Keynes
Postal Code
MK7 6AA
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKJ12

Contact

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Id
publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Description
Public authority - sub-central government
Organisation 2
Name
Teledyne UK Limited
Id
GB-PPON-PGJG-9843-DPVL

Identifier

Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PGJG-9843-DPVL

Address

Street Address
106 Waterhouse Lane
Locality
Chelmsford
Postal Code
CM1 2QU
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKH36

Contact

Telephone
(0)1245493493

Roles

supplier

Details

Scale
large
Vcse
No
Public Service Mission Organization
No
Sheltered Workshop
No

Award information

Award 1
Id
1
Status
active
Main Procurement Category
goods

Items

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
38000000
Description
Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-PPON-PGJG-9843-DPVL
Name
Teledyne UK Limited

Related lots

1

Contracts and changes

Entry 1
Id
1
Award ID
1
Title
Habitable Worlds Observatory Detector
Status
active
Has Renewal
Yes
Above Threshold
Yes
Date Signed
1 Sept 2026, 00:00

Period

Starts
1 Sept 2026, 00:00
Ends
31 Mar 2027, 23:59
Max Extent Date
31 Mar 2030, 23:59

Renewal

Description
Phase 2 extension end date: 31/03/2030

Value

Including VAT
702,000
Amount
585,000
Currency
GBP

Documents

Entry 1
Id
084273-2026
Document Type
contractNotice
Notice Type
UK7
Description
Contract details notice on Find a Tender
Published
7 Sept 2026, 11:04
Format
text/html

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Milton Keynes · UKJ12 · MK7 6AA · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

3 published notice versions reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

3 VERSIONS
  1. 079409-2026Transparency notice on Find a Tender ·
  2. 079422-2026Contract award notice on Find a Tender ·
  3. 084273-2026Contract details notice on Find a Tender ·