AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
UPDATE
April 2013
McIlvaine Company
Surrey Satellite Opens New Facility and Cleanroom Space
Surrey Satellite Technology US LLC has moved into a purpose-built company headquarters and satellite manufacturing facility in Englewood, Colo. The new SST-US headquarters comprises cleanroom space for satellite and subsystem manufacture, customer payload integration, and electronics assembly activities.
The SST-US facility also includes an electronics laboratory, mission operations center, and office space to accommodate the growing team and its design, analysis, test, and management systems. Once in orbit, satellites built and launched by SST-US will be commissioned and operated from SST-US' mission operations center.
"We established SST-US in Colorado over five years ago, attracted by Colorado's growing prominence as a hub for the nation’s space industry and the resident critical mass of satellite companies, related technology firms, and experienced personnel. An incentives package from the State of Colorado and Douglas County to locate the permanent SST-US headquarters here in Englewood just south of Denver was a tangible indication that we are seen as a valuable contributor to the local economy and the high-tech knowledge base," says Dr. John Paffett, SST-US CEO. "We are expecting significant growth and to triple our professional staff in the Denver area by the end of this year."
"Interest in 'small sat' technology is intensifying in the United States as commercial, government, and military organizations face the prospect of continuing critical space missions with frozen or reduced budgets," says Paffett. "Smaller satellites that can be built right here in Colorado at a fraction of the cost of larger, heavier spacecraft are the solution for many of these missions."
Surrey Satellite Technology US, a subsidiary of Surrey Satellite Technology Limited, addresses the requirements of the U.S. market and its customers for the provisions of small satellite solutions, applications, and services for Earth observation, science, technology demonstration, and communications. Since 1981, Surrey has launched 41 satellites as well as provided training and development programs, consultancy services, and mission studies for NASA, the U.S. Air Force, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and other institutional and commercial customers.
McIlvaine Company
Northfield, IL 60093-2743
Tel: 847-784-0012; Fax: 847-784-0061
E-mail: editor@mcilvainecompany.com