Two major aerospace organizations are moving house.
The UK Space Agency announced yesterday that it’s moving its HQ from Swindon to Oxfordshire and opening three additional satellite offices. Stateside, Aerospace Corp. announced that it will base its operations outside DC instead of in El Segundo, where the majority of its employees reside.
UKSA shifts to Oxfordshire: The UK commercial space sector is growing quickly, outpacing the growth of the UK economy broadly. The national space office wants to be where the action is happening—specifically, the Harwell Science Campus in Oxfordshire, where 100+ space companies and research orgs operate. The new HQ is expected to open in June.
“This is a transformational moment for the UK Space Agency, responding directly to the feedback that the Agency should be embedded in the sector,” UKSA CEO Paul Bate said in a release. “This will place the UK Space Agency at the heart of the space sector we serve, boosting growth, improving relationships with regional organisations and supporting a strong, diverse and connected sector.”
The agency will continue its operations out of London and Swindon. On top of the new Oxfordshire HQ, the company is opening three new offices:
- Cardiff, set to open in April
- Leicester, also set to open in April
- Edinburgh, set to open this summer
Aerospace Corp. picks DC: Across the pond, the federally funded research and development center is planning to work more closely with its partners on Capitol Hill. The Chantilly, VA, office right in the NRO’s backyard has been the company’s corporate headquarters since it made the move on March 21.
Aerospace Corp. employs 2,800+ people in El Segundo, CA, and the organization isn’t planning on shifting that force to the east coast. Instead, leadership announced that the company will invest $100M into its El Segundo office to expand engineering and research.
