Space agency establishes East Midlands base as part of nationwide expansion
Space Park Leicester has been chosen as the location for one of three new regional offices of the UK Space Agency, as part of its nationwide expansion.
The agency will station its staff at the University of Leicester’s £100m science and innovation park.
Aligned with the government’s Levelling Up strategy, this expansion aims to encourage closer collaboration between the agency and the UK’s space industry, while also promoting regional skills and job opportunities.
Professor Richard Ambrosi, executive director of Space Park Leicester, said: “Space scientists at the University of Leicester have a long history of working with the UK Space Agency on numerous space missions and programmes spanning upstream technology development and downstream science. University of Leicester expertise has supported missions with UK Space Agency involvement such as the European Space Agency’s Bepi Colombo mission to Mercury, the Rosalind Franklin Mission to Mars, the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer mission to launch in 2025 and the carbon monitoring mission MicroCarb just to name a few.”
UK Space Agency is also opening new headquarters at the Harwell Science Campus’ Space Cluster in Oxfordshire and regional offices in Scotland and Wales.
The new structure will create opportunities to build on high-growth areas, such as Earth observation and satellite broadband.
It will also help the UK establish early leadership in emerging markets such as in‑orbit spacecraft servicing, active space debris removal, and the new lunar economy, enabling us to help forge a greener, smarter and more inclusive sector.
Dr Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, said: “This is a transformational moment for the UK Space Agency, responding directly to the feedback that the Agency should be embedded in the sector. Our new headquarters, located at the UK’s biggest space cluster in Harwell, will connect to new regional offices in Leicester, Edinburgh and Cardiff, and our existing London and Swindon teams, helping us recruit space talent from across the nation and deliver the National Space Strategy.
“Space Park Leicester is a vital part of both Space City Leicester and the broader Midlands Space Cluster, with both a national and international focus. As the city’s hub for space research and innovation, since opening in 2022, we must nurture Space Park Leicester’s skills and expertise and connect them with the wider sector to ensure we continue this journey.”
