The League Table of UK Space Components Manufacturers

Continuing our rankings of the top space companies in the UK, we turn the telescope today in the direction of space component manufacturers. Component manufacture is responsible to up to 20% of the UK space industry, though it is hard to measure due to the fact that many of the companies on this list also operate in other industries.

Though the space industry in the country is seen as fledgling, a lot of the companies on this list have a rich history, with many of them supplying huge global players in the world of aerospace, including NASA. 

Parker Meggitt 

Parker Meggitt is a large company based in Coventry with a focus on many different industries including aerospace. In the space industry, the company manufacturers high-reliability instruments that monitor vehicle propulsion systems, among other systems. These have been designed to withstand extreme pressure, vibration, and temperatures. 

Parker Meggitt shares the case study of the New Horizons probe which used the company’s microwave cables to beam back close-up images of Pluto even after a three billion mile journey.

The company is described as a leader in “research, design, integration, manufacture, certification, and lifetime service of flight control, hydraulic, fuel and inerting, fluid conveyance, thermal management, lubrication, pneumatic systems and components for aerospace and other high-technology markets.”

Oxford Instruments

Not to be confused with Oxford Space Systems, Oxford Instruments is a company developing and designing tools for industry and research, with numerous contracts in the aerospace industry and a number of innovations that can be attributed to the company. 

They also have sites in the US, Europe, and Asia. 

As well as making components for aerospace industry applications, the company has a focus on space technologies including astronomy, deep space imaging, conducting widefield or transit surveys, adaptive optics, near-earth object detection, and more.  

Cobham

Cobham, also known as Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions in the US, have multiple facets to their business including creating a fund for future innovations and supporting new tech companies. 

The Cobham Group has many different specialist areas and one of these is manufacturing for land, sea, air, and space. The company claims to have “customised solutions across the entire signal chain” and their products include microelectronics, RF, and microwaves.

Cobham Group also has a focus on Satcom and aerospace communications. Though they have sold off some parts of their business in recent years, Cobham are still key players in the space industry.

Micross

With numerous locations in the UK and worldwide, including an office in Norwich, Micross boasts more than 40 years of history producing components for the aerospace, defense, space, medical, energy, communications, and industrial markets.

The company has moved more into the space industry in recent years with clients including NASA. The company boasts “a broad range of design, manufacturing and military-level testing ensuring a highly-secure, fully-complaint process from program conception through final delivery.”

Reliance Precision

Reliance has been working in the space industry since 2011. The company was traditionally operating in the terrestrial aerospace sector creating products for aviation among other industries. The company itself is over 30 years old and has partners including the ESA and UKSA.

Projects include bespoke gears and components for satellite technologies, including the 51 mm OD Stepper Motor Gearbox, developed under ESA’s ARTES programme (‘EuroSMG‘). The gearbox was designed for a high-power telecoms satellite application, with the requirements specified by Airbus Defence & Space Limited.

APC Technology Group

APC Technology Group supplies a variety of different industries, but their work in the field of space the group has worked with some high-profile clients. Outside of the space industry the company have also worked with industrial and defense clients, as well as healthcare.

The technologies that the company has developed include radiation-tolerant semiconductors, optoelectronics, and microelectronics. Their technology is proven to work in the harsh environments of space.

APC Technology Group’s website shows a wide range of different products which are available for ordering off the shelf, but some products can be made for bespoke purposes.

Flann Microwave

Flann Microwave has a history of over 70 years of manufacturing and design, including passive RF, Microwave, and millimetre-wave products provided to the space industry. The company can produce critical components and sub-systems required to deliver, test, measure and calibrate systems operating from 300MHz to 1.1THz, supplying to several industry sectors:

• SATCOM & Spaceflight
• Metrology, Test & Measurement
• R&D & Academia
• Telecommunications 5G & 6G
• Aerospace & Defence
• Security

The company is based in Bodmin, Cornwall, and is family-run. Since 1993 the company has accredited according to ISO9001, and most lately, 9001:2015. While space hasn’t always been their focus, the company made a huge step in 2015 when they were approached by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL NASA) to design and create critical components not available on the market at the time. The company has also provided parts for the European Space Agency (ESA & EUMETSAT) Metop-SG 2nd Gen satellites.

Oxford Space Systems

Oxford Space Systems is an innovative component manufacturer with some huge partners in the UK space industry as well as overseas. Supporters and stakeholders include the ESA and UKSA, plus Oxford Space Systems has supplied NASA as well as working with Airbus and fellow UK company AAC Clyde Space.

The company itself is focused on making antennas, with a history of innovation and expertise in the fields of RF engineering, mechanisms, thermal engineering, and materials science. The company claims to be able to make deployable antennas that are lighter as well as more affordable than the competition.

One of their technologies garnering the most attention is the Wrapped-Rib antenna, a deployable Cassegrain, centre-fed antenna that aims to be the go-to antenna for low Earth orbit (LEO), and one was recently tested and deployed on a CarbSAR satellite by Surrey Satellites.

“Oxford Space Systems is aiming to become the global leader of deployable antennas for Space, providing effective solutions today for the space based services of the future.”

STAR-Dundee

STAR-Dundee is one of the few companies with the sole focus on the space industry. Their specific focus is on data handling and processing technology that is designed to work in the testing conditions of space. 

Among their wide range of products and innovations can be found chip designs, IP cores, and other equipment. 

Their “SpaceWire” technology is an onboard data handling network, allowing their customers to connect instruments to mass memory, processors, and more. It is high-speed, low-power and can be implemented simply and flexibly as well as working in space.

SpaceFiber is another onboard network technology for spaceflight applications that runs over fibre-optic cables. These two technologies work together. 

STAR-Dundee now boasts over 20 years of expertise, and is one of many innovative space companies growing north of the border. It was born out of the Space Technology Centre at the University of Dundee, where the early work on SpaceWire was carried out. 

A Growing Industry

Growth in the UK space industry means even more opportunities for companies to form and grow at each stage of the supply chain. As well as providing components for the UK space industry, a lot of the companies that are producing components within the UK ship internationally, with many of them fulfilling contracts with NASA and other huge space agencies. 

Our league tables are always a work in progress, subject to change as the industry evolves and alters. We regularly revisit the guide to add new companies and adjust for the ever-changing landscape of the space industry. 

*Financial data comes from publicly available sources such as zoominfo.com, dnb.com, and is for the last reported full year. Due to exchange rate changes, financial data figures are left as-reported, and not changed to GBP. However, ranking places are determined by the GBP value as of the day of publication.