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£99m of government funding for a National Satellite
Testing Facility on the Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire
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additional £4m announced for a National Space
Propulsion Facility to develop and test space engines
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space sector forms a key part of the Government’s
Industrial Strategy to spread economic growth across the
UK
The £100m package includes £99m of Industrial Strategy Challenge
Fund investment to create a National Satellite Testing Facility
(NSTF) on the Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire, alongside a £4m
investment for a new National Space Propulsion Facility to
develop and test space engines at Wescott Venture Park in
Buckinghamshire.
Part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy, the significant
funding boost will enable UK industry to competitively bid for
more national and international contracts and ensure we remain a
world-leader for space technologies for decades to come.
Visiting the UK Space Gateway on the Harwell Campus in
Oxfordshire, where the NSTF will be based, Universities and
Science Minister said:
“From Cornwall to the Highlands and islands of Scotland, the UK
space sector underpins industries worth more than £250 billion to
the UK economy, and through our Industrial Strategy we will
unlock the sector’s potential to grow further.
“Located in a cluster known for research excellence, these new
facilities will help UK companies be more competitive in the
global market for space technology and support our ambition to
capture 10% of the global space market by 2030.”
Due to open in early 2020, the new NSTF will be a world-class
facility for the assembly, integration and testing of space
instruments and satellites, positioning the UK to capitalise on
the estimated 3,500 -10,000 satellites that are due to be
launched by 2025. It will also facilitate the build of bigger and
more technologically advanced satellites and remove the need for
UK companies to use test facilities located abroad.
The NSPF will allow companies and academia to test and develop
space propulsion engines, alongside a new facility for Reaction
Engines where the revolutionary SABRE air-breathing rocket engine
will also be tested and built.
Dr Graham Turnock, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, said:
This investment will enhance the capability of the UK space
industry. Having access to a National Satellite Testing
Facility will help companies develop and encourage new business
to come the UK, while the development of new facilities at
Westcott builds on what is already a world-class UK space
propulsion sector.
Dr Brian Bowsher, Chief Executive of the Science and Technology
Facilities Council, said:
STFC’s RAL Space team has been chosen as the delivery
organisation for this investment and our staff will be
responsible for the definition, design, building, fit out and
operation of the facility. This is fantastic recognition of the
strong reputation we have in the UK and overseas as the go-to
team for the assembly, integration and testing of the
incredibly complex and unique engineering involved in space
payloads and satellites."
