Harwell Campus solidifies its position as leading space hub
Harwell Campus continues to reinforce its status as a leading global space hub with the European Space Agency (ESA) announcing the creation of 100 new jobs at their European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT) at the Campus.
ECSAT, launched in 2015, aims to advance satellite-enabled telecommunications and integrate space technology into everyday life. Its teams are addressing climate change, developing technologies for exploration, and pioneering advanced manufacturing techniques for future space missions.
This announcement comes amid a surge of space sector companies relocating to or expanding within the 700-acre Harwell site over the past year. Recently, the UK Space Agency joined Europe’s most concentrated space cluster, relocating its headquarters to Harwell to be closer to the sector it serves.
Magdrive has doubled its campus space, and after an extensive refurbishment of the HQ Building, both MDA and RadTest expanded their presence, joining ESA, Origin Enterprises Digital, and HE Space Operations in the building.
MDA, Canada’s largest space technology developer, is working on a crucial landing sensor for a 2023 moon mission. The company now operates from two locations on Campus, increasing its space by 74 percent with its manufacturing base at the BEP0 building.
Stuart Grant, Chief Executive of Harwell Campus, said: “Through our masterplan programme of speculative tailored development and refurbishment, I’m delighted that we’ve been able to support these organisations at the leading edge of space innovation to grow and scale at pace.
“Connecting the growing space community at Harwell is extremely important, as it will continue to drive growth, inward investment, job creation.”
UK Space Agency CEO Dr Paul Bate said: “Together with ESA, we believe there is vast potential to build on the success of the ECSAT facility in Harwell, to support even more businesses, accelerate the development of new technologies and take advantage of the UK’s wider strengths in science and innovation.”
The Harwell Space Cluster is Europe’s most concentrated space cluster, which has grown into a dynamic, enterprising ecosystem of over 100 space organisations, employing over 1,400 people.
Commercial organisations work alongside public sector stakeholders including European Space Agency, UK Space Agency, the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s RAL Space and the Satellite Applications Catapult. It’s the front door for international customers, collaborators, and inward investors to engage with expertise and capability from across the UK space sector.
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