UK Space Facilities Instrument Design & Development

Airbus Defence & Space – Portsmouth Site
The Airbus Portsmouth site has a very extensive range of space development and test facilities which effectively constitute a one-stop-shop for many of its own programmes.
Airbus DS Stevenage
The Airbus Stevenage site has an extensive range of space development and test facilities which effectively constitute a one-stop-shop for many of its own programmes.
Cardiff University
The AIG has excellent facilities, potentially available to external users. AIG has significant experience of collaboration with industry and research institutions in the UK and abroad.
Centre for Advanced Instrumentation – Durham University
Durham has been at the cutting edge of space research for many years and has an outstanding reputation in space science.
Cranfield University
Cranfield expects to continue using a mix of its own facilities and specialist facilities at other organisations, since collaborations bring benefits to both partners.
Honeywell (formerly COM DEV) - Aylesbury and Edinburgh
Honeywell (COM DEV) is generally well-equipped for its own purposes and can access those external facilities needed to support its RF component, subsystem manufacturing and test activities.
Imperial College - London
Both the Magnetometer Calibration Facility and the EOCF are world class calibration facilities able to support a full range of active characterisation projects for Blackett Laboratory physicists.
Magna Parva
Magna Parva’s manufacturing, environmental, validation and testing facilities are available to external users under suitable contractual arrangements.
Open University
The OU Department of Physical Sciences has excellent facilities to support its in-house planetary research programmes. It is happy to collaborate with external users, subject to availability of resources and normal commercial arrangements.
RAL Space
As part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council, it is clearly part of RAL Space’s mission to provide world-class space development and test facilities for the UK space community.
Thales Alenia Space – UK, Harwell, Bristol & Belfast
TAS UK is a member of a major European Large Scale Integrator, and as such has access to many European AIV facilities. It is watching developments of AIV facilities at the Harwell site with great interest.
UK Astronomy Technology Centre
The UK ATC has excellent facilities for development and test of space instrumentation as evidenced by a number of advanced technology space programmes it has worked on including MIRI and SPIRE;
University College London, Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL)
MSSL's facilities are mainly used for internal purposes, but there is some spare capacity to support external customers under usual commercial arrangements.
University of Dundee
The University’s Space Technology Centre has particular expertise and facilities to support research and development of on-board data-handling (OBDH) systems and planetary lander technology.
University of Leicester Space Research Centre (SRC) & Space Park Leicester
The SRC’s facilities have a transient loading and are in principle available for use by external customers - the University has demonstrated experience in accommodating external work, with appropriate planning
University of Oxford - Department of Physics
The Department’s environmental test facilities are adequate for its in-house programmes. The facilities are available for use by external customers, subject to appropriate planning and commercial terms.