ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dourdain and Science Minister Rt Hon. David Willetts attended the unveiling of SSTL's new £10M, 40,000sq. ft. Kepler Technical Facility on 25th January.

David Willetts said: “The continued success of SSTL is a clear sign that our space industry is thriving. This impressive, high-tech new facility is already manufacturing some of the most advanced satellites in the world, boosting growth and helping the UK stay ahead of the game in space technology.”

The building is co-located with SSTL’s headquarters building in Guildford, UK and will house around 40 permanent staff and up to 100 further project specific staff from across the company at peak test and integration periods. It provides two 125 cubic metre walk-in thermal chambers, a seismic test platform, 15,000kg & 3,200kg monorail cranes, 10,000kg & 8,000kg gantry cranes, and reinforced floors, allowing flexibility for integration and testing of both small and larger spacecraft.

• ESA Director General praises UK space innovation during SSTL’s Kepler Building unveiling -- UK Space Agency
• ESA DG and UK Science Minister open Kepler facility -- SSTL