Technical upgrades to the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh will help space startups experiment with the latest cutting-edge equipment.
Following nine months of renovations and over £400,000 investment via the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the Higgs’ space testing facility is reopening for business.
The upgrade is set to further enable the site to support early-stage tech startups and space SMEs as they begin their journey – providing access to cutting-edge equipment and technical expertise to quality space hardware.
Part of STFC the Higgs Centre is co-located with the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) and the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Astronomy (IfA) at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh. The site also hosts Scotland’s European Space Agency (ESA) Business Incubation Centre UK.
The main driver for the renovations was to the make the facilities more accessible to a wider base of technology SMEs and space companies – to help meet the needs of the rapidly growing UK space sector, with more than 180 space companies located in Scotland.
This includes offering more equipment capable of performing a greater range of environmental testing. For example, for small satellites or other spacecraft, checking the reliability of technology destined for orbit well in advance of launch. The offering now includes vibration, thermal, vacuum, optical, SpaceWire, electromagnetic compatibility and radio frequency testing.
STFC’s Dr Julian Dines, head of innovation at the Higgs Centre, said: “After nine months of hard work we are thrilled to throw open our doors once again and invite companies to access our bigger and better range of dedicated space testing facilities at the Higgs Centre.
“This upgrade means an even broader range of space testing can now take place on site here in Edinburgh, increasing the reliability of satellites in orbit. We look forward to supporting the further expansion of the burgeoning space sector in Scotland – particularly as we approach the next phase in the sector’s development with space launch from Scotland.”