Astroscale’s new U.K. facility Zeus on Harwell Science & Innovation Campus. Photo: Astroscale

Astroscale has opened a new satellite manufacturing facility and operations facilities at the Harwell Science & Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. The new facility, dubbed Zeus, covers approximately 20,000 square feet for a manufacturing facility, satellite operations center, and offices.

Astroscale Limited, the U.K. and European subsidiary of Astroscale Holdings, announced the opening on Wednesday. The company said this location in the Harwell Space Cluster alongside the UK Space Agency, European Space Agency (ESA), Satellite Applications Catapult, and others will contribute to the in-orbit servicing supply chain and commercial servicing economy through creating new jobs and national capability.

The United Kingdom has pledged to invest in its space sector, releasing the first UK National Space Strategy in 2021.

Dr. Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, attended the opening. “With nearly 5,000 operational satellites and over 30,000 pieces of trackable debris, the ability to operate safely in space is growing increasingly challenging,” Bate said. “The U.K. is leading efforts to make space more sustainable and we’re backing companies, such as Astroscale, to design innovative new missions to clear hazardous space junk. It’s fantastic to see this state-of-the-art facility open, bringing new capabilities to the U.K. and creating more than 100 jobs at the Harwell Space Cluster.”