£20m Westcott Space Hub, supported by UK Space Agency, will boost cutting-edge innovation and create up to 300 jobs
A new ‘space hub’ has opened in Buckinghamshire to support collaboration between small and medium-sized enterprises, major industry players, academia and other stakeholders in the local space ecosystem.
Westcott Space Hub seen from overhead, photo courtesy of Skyports Drone Services
Backed by £5.8m from the UK Space Agency, the Westcott Space Hub offers state-of-the-art testing facilities, training spaces and commercial workspace for the growing UK space sector. The site spans 5700 square metres (62,000 square feet) and is located in Westcott Venture Park – which has more than 50 years of history as a rocket engine test site.
The hub boasts flexible commercial space comprising offices, laboratories and workshops, 33% of which has already been pre-let. There is also a training facility with a 150-seat lecture auditorium, 15 classrooms and a fully equipped workshop.
Shard facilities include a clean room, mechanical environmental testing facilities and propulsion testing facilities, with a vacuum chamber for testing electric propulsion engines. This is one of the largest such facilities in the world, and the only one of its type in the UK. The hub is also one of few campuses in the world with world-class assembly, integration and testing facilities to hire.
The hub project began in December 2023 and has been delivered with £15m in match funding. It is expected to create approximately 100 direct jobs and 200 roles within the wider supply chain over coming years.
The project is led by URA Thrusters in partnership with Patrizia Hanover Property Unit Trust, Skyports Drone Services, Westcott Shared Facilities Ltd and Buckinghamshire Council.
Space Minister Liz Lloyd says: ‘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.’
Alberto Garbayo, CEO of URA Thrusters, adds: ‘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.’
Dr Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, says: ‘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 £5.8m 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.’
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