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Expanding International space connections
The Science and Technology Facilities Council are pleased to welcome Canadian-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd (MDA) as the first major commercial space company to establish operation on the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus. MDA will initially take space in the Space Science and Technology Department at STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL). The announcement was made today (29th September 2008) at the International Astronautical Congress now underway Glasgow.
MDA has had a presence in the UK since last year when the company became the major shareholder in Orbital Optics Ltd, a space camera payload business also located on the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus. Orbital Optics Ltd is a spin out from Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.
I am delighted MDA is applying its proven expertise in the UK, and taking advantage of the excellent and growing facilities at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, including the state-of-the-art resources of the STFC Space Department.
Professor Keith Mason
Professor Keith Mason, Chief Executive of STFC said, “I am delighted MDA is applying its proven expertise in the UK, and taking advantage of the excellent and growing facilities at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, including the state-of-the-art resources of the STFC Space Department. I would encourage others operating in the space field to follow MDA’s lead in building on this rapidly expanding and exciting centre for innovation.”
Professor Richard Holdaway, Director of Space Science and Technology at RAL, said “This move by MDA brings together two world-class organisations and is a great boost for space development in the UK and for further increasing the UK share of the world space market.”
By growing its current business, MDA hopes to have better access the UK domestic and the European Space market, particularly the European Space Agency and the European Union. The new company, MDA Space and Robotics Ltd., will eventually have the capability of managing space missions and building satellites and payloads for a range of operational requirements.
Notes for editors
Contact
International Astronautical Congress 2008
The 59th International Astronautical Congress (link opens in a new window) (IAC) takes place between 29 September and 3 October 2008 in Glasgow, Scotland.
IAC 2008 is being organised by the British Interplanetary Society (BIS), which was founded in 1933 and is the world's longest-established organisation devoted solely to supporting and promoting the exploration of space and astronautics.
The venue for the IAC 2008 is the state-of-the-art Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre and the Crowne Plaza Hotel, situated on the banks on the River Clyde.
About the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus
The Harwell Science and Innovation Campus (link opens in a new window) in Oxfordshire is a vibrant and growing community of science and technology based innovation and enterprise including major national and international science projects and facilities. The Campus covers nearly 640 acres with over 4,500 people working in some 100 organisations.
The Campus lies in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Oxfordshire near the ancient Ridgeway. With good access by road (A34/M4) and rail (Didcot Parkway), and within easy reach of the key regional centres of Oxford, Newbury and Reading, the site is well located for knowledge-based industry.
Announced on 14 August 2008, the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus is a 50:50 joint venture comprising the UKAEA and STFC as the public sector partner and Goodman as the private sector partner. The planned developments resulting from the joint venture will not only establish the UK as a world-leading location for science and innovation but will attract domestic and international investment encompassing fundamental scientific research, the development of property, and the creation of high value, knowledge-based jobs.
This joint venture, originally set out in 2006 by former Science Minister Lord Sainsbury, is a key part of the Government’s ten-year UK Science and Innovation Investment Framework to increasing the economic impact of public investment is science and technology by maximising opportunities for knowledge transfer. This particular approach will enable the Campus to benefit from public sector access to global scientific communities and research programmes, and Goodman’s market access to global businesses.
MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd
MDA provides advanced information solutions that capture and process vast amounts of data, produce essential information, and improve the decision making and operational performance of business and government organisations worldwide.
Focused on markets and customers with strong repeat business potential, MDA delivers a broad spectrum of earth and space based information solutions, ranging from complex operational systems, to tailored information services, to electronic information products. MDA employs more than 3,000 people in locations across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
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Page last updated: 01 October 2008
by Natalie Bealing
