Satellite communications company Viasat joins Harwell UK Space Innovation Hub

By Nicky Godding

19 May 2022

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Satellite communications technology company Viasat, has joined the Space Cluster at Harwell to support UK space innovation.

According to Viasat President and CEO Rick Baldridge, the decision to join the largest UK Space Innovation cluster shows the company’s intent to play its part in developing the local aerospace sector. Baldridge adds that Viasat team is looking forward to building valuable partnerships that would bring more space capabilities to the UK market. The company is working on a global satellite constellation for broadband internet, Viasat-3. However, to provide a fully secure and dependable service, it is necessary to create ties with other UK space innovation companies. Baldridge believes new alliances will help work on safety, suitability, and encryption protocols.

Dr Joanna Hart, development manager at the UK Space Innovation Centre, is enthusiastic about welcoming Viasat to the Harwell Centre. She emphasises that the company has a well-established reputation for working with startups in the space niche. In its turn, Harwell will happily offer the newcomer full access to its expertise and technology. As a result, this collaboration could help discover new commercial opportunities and develop next-generation space tech.

Harwell UK Space Innovation experts estimate that the UK space industry contributes £5.7 billion GPD to the state budget each year. However, the campus is aiming for more progress by attracting established space players to its ecosystem. By 2030, Harwell UK Space Innovation residents aim to achieve a major National Space Strategy milestone – grow UK’s share in the international space market to 10%.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.