A new £20m space innovation hub has officially opened in Buckinghamshire, providing advanced facilities to support the growth of UK space businesses and create up to 300 jobs.
The Westcott Space Hub, located at Westcott Venture Park, has been developed with £5.8m of funding from the UK Space Agency and is led by URA Thrusters in partnership with Patrizia Hanover Property Unit Trust, Skyports Drone Services, Westcott Shared Facilities Ltd and Buckinghamshire Council. Spanning 62,000 square feet, the facility aims to address a long-standing gap in research and development infrastructure in the county.
Built on a site with more than 50 years of heritage as a rocket engine test location, the Hub is designed to support collaboration between small and medium-sized enterprises, large industry players and academia within the UK space ecosystem.
Space Minister Liz Lloyd described the opening as “another exciting milestone for the UK’s space ambitions”, adding that the facility would give British innovators “the tools they need to compete on the global stage” while creating skilled jobs and attracting private investment.
The Hub includes 42,000 square feet of flexible commercial space for offices, laboratories and workshops, with around a third already pre-let. It also features a 10,000 square foot training centre with a 150-seat auditorium and multiple classrooms, alongside 10,000 square feet of shared specialist facilities. These include clean rooms, mechanical environmental testing and propulsion testing infrastructure, as well as a vacuum chamber for electric propulsion engines – the only facility of its kind in the UK and one of the largest globally.
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 CEO Alberto Garbayo said the Hub strengthens Westcott’s position as a leading propulsion testing site, enabling full integration, production and in-vacuum testing of both chemical and electric thrusters. He added that more “Westcott-made technologies” are expected to reach orbit in the coming years, including deep-space missions.
The project began in December 2023 and has been delivered with £15m in match funding, underlining private sector confidence in the UK space industry. It is expected to generate around 100 direct jobs and a further 200 roles across the supply chain.
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