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?Substantial opportunities? to work in theglobal space industry

The industry outreach specialist for the next generation of ground-based high energy gamma-ray telescopes told delegates at a national space conference held in County Durham that there were ‘substantial opportunities’ for British companies to get involved in the project.

Dr Paula Chadwick said there were opportunities to supply a wide range of goods and services for the £300m revolutionary Cherenkov Telescope Array project during her speech at Spacetech 13, a conference held at NETPark (the North East Technology Park) in Sedgefield, County Durham.

Dr Chadwick said the project would need engineering on all scales – from metal fabrication for telescope structures through to camera technologies, optics and mirrors.

“It will create opportunities for businesses that may not necessarily have considered themselves as playing a part in the space sector. There are great opportunities for forward thinking companies,” said Dr Chadwick.

“We’ll be looking for companies which can offer advanced manufacturing techniques and large production runs for the telescopes and the components behind them.”

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is an international project to build the next generation ground-based very high energy gamma-ray instrument. It will serve as an open observatory to a wide astrophysics community and will provide a deep insight into the non-thermal high-energy universe including enhanced understanding of cosmic rays.

Spacetech 13, which was organised by Business Durham, the business gateway of Durham County Council, heard from several space industry experts.

Dr Ruth Mallors, director of the aerospace, aviation and defence Knowledge Transfer Network and host of the Space Special Interest Group, urged delegates, to maximise their chances of securing business by using the networks available to them and getting in front of the right people.

“The opportunities are huge in the space sector. There really is something for everyone,” said Dr Mallors.

“Businesses need to get on the road and look for key events where there are clusters of people whom they can talk to. Using Knowledge Transfer Networks, for example, you’re going to reach the scientists, the engineers and the technologists rather than knocking on the door of big companies and speaking to their sales people.

Stewart Watkins, managing director of Business Durham said: “Businesses have had a chance to learn from the industry experts how to capitalise on this burgeoning sector which is worth around £9.1 bn annually in the UK alone.

“We’ve held this event in County Durham because a lot of the components that go into space technology are made by engineering and manufacturing based companies and the North East retains a strong manufacturing sector so we have the capability to fulfil these contracts.

“Spacetech has proved to be a really popular event. It’s clear that the potential in this sector means that we’ll be having follow up events in the future.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Business Durham .