SSTL said the additional building would enable it to work on a broader range of satellites and add capacity to integrate and test more satellites.
The 3,700m2 facility will house around 40 staff and anything up to a further 100 staff at peak test and integration periods.
Due for completion in April 2011, the facility will be operating at full capacity as soon as it is opened. Its cleanroom facilities will be used for the testing and integration of 14 navigation payloads for the deployment phase of Europe’s future Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).
Among the facilities will be two 125m3 walk-in thermal chambers, a seismic test platform with 16,000kg, 10,000kg and 8,000kg gantry cranes.
Since 1981 SSTL has built and launched 34 satellites – as well as providing training and development programmes, consultancy services, and mission studies for ESA, NASA, international governments and commercial customers.
