TES have recently been awarded a project for the design, manufacture and supply of the power distribution equipment for the new National Satellite Test Facility which is to be built and operated by the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) on behalf of the UK government.
The new facility provides the first step in meeting the UK space industry’s need for a set of co-located, world-class facilities for environmental testing of space payloads and satellites. Satellite test facilities at this scale, in one location do not currently exist in the UK. Once operational in 2021, the NSTF will provide the space sector across the UK with all the major testing facilities they need under one roof, without incurring expensive international shipping costs.
The NSTF will expand and complement the existing RAL Space facilities at the heart of the Harwell Space Cluster. This major national infrastructure will support the UK’s space sector as it seeks to capitalise on the estimated 3,500-10,000 satellites that are due to be launched by 2025. The UK government is investing £99 million to build the NSTF as part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to support UK businesses and academia as they bid for more national and international contracts to build bigger and more technologically advanced satellites.
Commenting on the project, TES Operations Director, Martin Brannigan said “we’re delighted to have been awarded this project and to be able to play a part in the UK space ecosystem. We have worked with STFC on a number of projects in the past and look forward to working closely with them again in the coming months as they work towards making the new National Satellite Test Facility operational.”
TES design, manufacture, install, test and commission a wide range of power, control and automation equipment for industries including water, data centre, energy and mining. Products, custom designed to suit project requirements, include MCC’s, Switchgear, PDU’s, ATS’s and Distribution Boards.
