UK Space Facilities Mechanical Design & Development Facilities

Mechanical Design & Development Facilities

AAC Clyde Space
AAC Clyde Space’s in-house facilities are fully committed to its own extensive manufacturing and test programmes and so the company does not offer stand-alone testing services, instead primarily offering these as subsets of larger programmes.
Advanced Forming Research Centre – University of Strathclyde
Full details of services and equipment may be found on the AFRC website, and a pdf brochure is available with full equipment details.
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.
AVS-UK
AVS conceives and develops high-value mechanisms, instruments and robotics for high-value Space missions. AVS is also developing its own catalogue of Space products for IOS, mechanisms, propulsion systems and thermal devices.
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.
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.
ESR Technologies
ESR Technology is active in a range of markets covering space and terrestrial industries and specialises in tribology, the field of engineering related to friction, wear and lubrication.
Falcon Project Ltd, Westcott
Falcon would like to see a high-altitude test facility at Westcott. Falcon is planning to redevelop ‘K Site’ at Westcott, which includes K2 a horizontal test stand, K1 a vertical test stand and R Site which comprises two smaller firing bays.
Glyndwr Innovations Limited
Glyndŵr Innovations Limited has specialist skills and equipment for the fabrication, test and integration of high precision optics. This includes large, up to 2.0m diameter, and complex optics such as aspherics.
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.
Queens University Belfast
QUB has excellent facilities to support both its in-house research programmes and external users, subject to normal commercial terms.
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.
Roxel (Safran-MBDA), Kidderminster
Roxel’s rocket motor design, manufacturing and testing facilities, which were established principally for its own development programmes make it ideally positioned to support external customers in all aspects of rocket propulsion systems.
Swansea University
Swansea University has long-standing and notable experience in collaboration with industry and research institutions in the UK and abroad.
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.
TWI Technology Centre (Wales), Port Talbot
The TWI Technology Centre in Wales offers truly World-class state-of-the-art facilities for research, development and application of NDT techniques which have direct application for the space sector.
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;
Ulster University - Belfast & Jordanstown
Ulster University offers excellent facilities and capabilities across advanced engineering, advanced materials technologies, composites, fire testing and material characterisation, and computer science.
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 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.
University of Southampton – Astronautics Group
The Astronautics Group has excellent facilities to support its space systems engineering activities and its in-house research interests and developments in both electric and chemical propulsion.
University of Surrey
The University is a centre of Excellence for space and telecommunications research