A new £20 million space innovation hub has officially opened in Buckinghamshire, supported by UK Space Agency funding, providing cutting-edge facilities to help space businesses grow and creating up to 300 jobs.
The Westcott Space Hub, led by URA Thrusters in partnership with Patrizia Hanover Property Unit Trust, Skyports Drone Services, Westcott Shared Facilities Ltd and Buckinghamshire Council, spans 62,000 square feet and offers state-of-the-art testing facilities, training spaces and commercial workspace for the growing UK space sector.
Located at Westcott Venture Park, a site with over 50 years of heritage as a rocket engine test site, the Hub addresses a critical gap in research and development infrastructure in Buckinghamshire.
Backed by £5.8 million from the UK Space Agency, the facility will support collaboration between small and medium-sized enterprises, major industry players, academia and other stakeholders in the local space ecosystem.
Space Minister Liz Lloyd said:
The opening of the Westcott Space Hub marks another exciting milestone for the UK's space ambitions. By combining world-leading testing facilities with space for businesses to grow and collaborate, we're giving British innovators the tools they need to compete on the global stage.
This investment is about more than infrastructure - it's about creating skilled jobs, attracting private investment, and ensuring that the next generation of space technologies are designed, built and tested right here in the UK.
The Hub includes:
- 42,000 square feet of flexible commercial space featuring offices, laboratories and workshops, with 33% already pre-let
- A 10,000 square foot training facility with a 150-seat lecture auditorium, 15 classrooms and a fully equipped workshop
- 10,000 square feet of shared facilities including a clean room, mechanical environmental testing facilities, and propulsion testing facilities, with a vacuum chamber for testing electric propulsion engines - the only facility of its type in the UK and one of the largest in the world.
The Hub, with the support of the Buckinghamshire Council and Westcott Shared Facilities, is one of the few campuses in the world with world-class assembly, integration and testing facilities to hire.
Alberto Garbayo, CEO of URA Thrusters, said:
The Westcott Space Hub, in conjunction with our historic existing testing sites in Westcott, has made us one of the few companies in the world with capacity for full integration, production and in-vacuum testing for both, chemical and electric thrusters.
Westcott is becoming one of the leading propulsion testing sites in the world, but, thanks to the Hub, it is becoming an even more attractive place to conduct other space business activities: over the next few years we will see more Westcott-made technologies going into orbit, including deep-space.
Westcott Space Hub. Credit: Skyports Drone Services.
The project, which began in December 2023, has been delivered with £15 million in match funding, demonstrating significant private sector confidence in the UK space industry.
The Hub is expected to create approximately 100 direct jobs and 200 roles within the wider supply chain over the coming years.
Dr Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, said:
This world-class facility will provide companies with access to cutting-edge testing infrastructure that was previously unavailable in this country, helping them to scale up and compete globally.
Our £5.8 million investment is already delivering results, leveraging substantial private sector funding and creating high-skilled jobs. By bringing together businesses, researchers and training facilities under one roof, the Hub will foster the collaboration essential for growing the UK's thriving space economy.
As part of the wider announcement on the Westcott Space Hub, the opening of the Skylark Café and Conference Facility marks an important step in fostering collaboration and innovation within the Westcott Space Cluster.
The modern facility provides dedicated spaces for networking, knowledge exchange, and strategic partnerships, supporting businesses, researchers, and innovators working in the UK's growing space sector.
Steven Broadbent, Leader of Buckinghamshire Council, said:
The opening of the Westcott Space Hub marks a transformative moment for Buckinghamshire and the UK's space sector. This project exemplifies the power of collaboration between local government, industry leaders and national agencies.
Buckinghamshire has a proud heritage in propulsion and aerospace innovation, stretching back to the Skylark rocket programme. The Hub builds on that legacy by providing state-of-the-art infrastructure for research, development and training, attracting cutting-edge businesses and generating high-skilled jobs for our residents.
Buckinghamshire Council is proud to play its part in this exciting journey.
Nigel MacKenzie, Development Manager at Westcott, Dr Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, Countess Howe, Lord-Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, Alberto Garbayo, CEO of URA Thrusters, Councillor Steven Broadbent, Leader of Buckinghamshire Council and Emily Waller, Director, Westcott Shared Facilities. Credit: White Lizard Productions
URA Thrusters, which develops sustainable propulsion solutions for spacecraft, has expanded into one of the main buildings of the Hub which will enable other companies to access world-class testing and development facilities without relocating abroad.
URA will deliver the Flight Models of two UK and European first propulsion solutions from Westcott. The first water electrolysis propulsion system and the first low power (50 W) electrospray thruster, which are planned to be launched from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland, in 2027.
Westcott Venture Park is already home to an established and growing community of innovative companies focused on space propulsion, autonomous systems, robotics, and communications, and is home of the National Space Propulsion Test Facility (NSPTF), also funded by the UK Space Agency. Thanks to the new shared facilities, Westcott is able to offer world-class testing and development.
The UK Space Agency's Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund has awarded more than £45.6 million for 13 projects since it launched in 2023. This funding is complemented by over £43.8 million in match funding from the sector, generating a total of £89.6 million of private/public investment in space research and development infrastructure.
On top of that, SCIF funding awards have bolstered organisations' ability to attract investment, helping to secure venture capital, private equity and follow-on public funding, and has already helped catalyse over £50 million in additional investment.
