UK astronaut Maj. Tim Peake officially opened the facility, which will manufacture cutting-edge electric propulsion systems for satellites. Two years ago, Thales signalled its intent for developing space design and manufacturing in the UK with the establishment of its Thales Alenia Space division.
Since 2014, the company has grown from just ten members of staff to 150 today – a number that is set to grow to 350 in the next two years. The company will also set up two space engineering centres of excellence in Bristol and Harwell, Oxfordshire.
The new facility in Belfast was selected over a number of sites across Europe. According to Thales, “The heritage of precision engineering for the defence sector, traced back to the iconic Short Brothers, and the similarity of skills to those of the space industry, made the Northern Ireland site an obvious choice.”
The site will manufacture around four satellite electric propulsion systems per year. Amongst these will be those for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Neosat satellite communications programme.
Magali Vaissiere, ESA Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications, called the opening of the facility “an important milestone in the electric propulsion revolution.”
The site has also received significant backing from government, who are committed to funding growth in the space industry in the UK. Speaking at the event, First Minister of Northern Ireland, Arlene Foster commented: “The Space Sector is an important emerging market with exciting commercial opportunities spanning numerous industries including engineering, ICT and communications. We want to ensure local businesses maximise their world class capabilities and expertise to position Northern Ireland as a globally recognised region for space sector innovation and expertise.
“The new clean room facilities at Thales are an important investment in the development of Northern Ireland’s space cluster and demonstrate the Group’s confidence in the world-class engineering capabilities of its workforce in Northern Ireland.”
