Star Tiger is a pioneering activity under the European Space Agency's Basic Technology Research Programme (TRP) to facilitate innovative and breakthrough research. The main aim is to reduce dramatically the development time for a critical space technology programme. The first project in partnership with CLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, England, is to realise the world’s first compact submillimetre wave imager using state-of-the-art micro-electro-mechanical technology. Star Tiger is short for 'Space Technology Advancements by Resourceful, Targeted and Innovative Groups of Experts and Researchers'.