Keys to second phase of £100m Space Park handed over
The keys to the second phase of a £100m research, innovation and teaching hub for space-related high-tech companies and researchers in Leicester have been handed over.
Space Park Leicester, established by the University of Leicester in partnership with local, national and international partners, consists of a research, innovation and teaching hub, which will incorporate academic research, industrial space, and Earth observation research and development (R&D).
Following completion of the building, the keys for the second phase were handed over last week to professor Richard Ambrosi, by representatives from construction company Bowmer + Kirkland.
Housing laboratories, workshops and calibration facilities along with high technology projects such as the double-walled insulator for the Mars Sample Return 2026 NASA ESA Mission as well as one of the UK’s largest academic clean rooms for the assembling and testing of space equipment, the second phase is intended to be in operation and accommodating most of its occupants by Christmas.
Professor Richard Ambrosi, professor of Space Instrumentation & Space Nuclear Power Systems at the University of Leicester, said: “We are extremely proud of completing phase two of this project. This is another major step in consistently expanding our understanding and knowledge surrounding space and space-enabled sectors.
“With the opening of Space Park Leicester and other recent nearby developments, Leicester is well and truly on the map as a key place to be for forward-thinking, high-end technology and space science businesses.”
Steve Chambers, Bowmer + Kirkland regional director, said: “We are proud to be involved in this project and to hand over stage two of this outstanding facility. I am proud of our team who have worked hard through a challenging period to enable the successful completion of phase two and we are all excited to see what the future holds for Space Park Leicester.”
Kevin Harris, chair of the LLEP board of directors, said: “Thanks to our initial £8.175m Local Growth Fund investment towards the first phase of Space Park, Leicester and Leicestershire has become and will continue to be an international hub of space technology and innovation, providing jobs and success for the area.
“I’m delighted that phase two is now complete and seeing all of the pioneering businesses making the Space Park their home makes me extremely proud that the LLEP made such a major contribution to its creation and growth.”
Future plans include further development on the Leicester site, with a commercial Low Cost Access to Space (LoCAS) payload and satellite manufacturing facility for the manufacture of small to mid-range satellites.
