International satellite tech company SatixFy has expanded hugely in the UK since opening a base here in 2016.
The firm was established in Hong Kong and opened its first design centre in Israel in 2012.
Since setting up UK operations in August 2016 with the support of the UK Space Agency, Innovate UK and the Department for International Trade, it now has 77 full-time employees in Farnborough and Manchester – out of 150 worldwide – and has attracted a further $20 million of investment.
The company’s new development centre in Manchester designs space-hardened silicon chips for satellite payloads with a first chip for on-board-processing.
SatixFy is also selling its own products after developing revolutionary flat antennas which could have applications in the Internet of Things market by connecting vehicles to the internet as well as for user terminals for the upcoming Low Earth orbiting constellations.
“We are delighted with the success that SatixFy have enjoyed since opening their UK operations,” said Graham Stuart, minister for investment at the Department for International Trade.
“They are a ringing endorsement for the compelling offer the UK presents to innovative, ambitious companies seeking to grow and compete successfully in the booming global space market.”
Dr Graham Turnock, chief executive of the UK Space Agency, said: “SatixFy UK is an excellent example of how working together we can bring investment to the UK, attract new engineers to work in the space sector and support innovative space companies to become really successful here, whilst driving significant export opportunity.
“The UK Government’s Industrial Strategy sets out a clear vision for the UK to become the world’s most innovative nation and we are working with industry to capture 10 per cent of the global space market by 2030.”
SatixFy UK has received a commitment for funding of more than €30m for several programmes from the European Space Agency’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Satellites (ARTES) programme, which transforms research into successful commercial projects.
The UK is the largest funder of the programme which is designed to support industry by funding the demonstration of advanced technologies, systems, services and applications in a representative space environment.
SatixFy UK is investing €15 million in its UK centres and other UK contractors including Cadence and TVS.
SatixFy UK has also formed a new joint venture with Singapore Technologies Engineering (STE), which will see STE invest $20m to develop and sell commercial Aero antennas for the In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) market while ownership of the technology remains in the UK.