Aerospace and space technology

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When it comes to aerospace and space excellence, England is light years ahead. Airbus bases its headquarters in Bristol, BAE Systems missions begin in Leicester and Rhodes Engineering Group make aerospace machinery in Leeds.

With over 3,000 global companies well grounded in the UK, we are a high-flyer in aeronautical work. AgustaWestland, Airbus, BAE Systems, Boeing and Bombardier, Cobham, Finmeccanica GKN, Rolls-Royce and Thales are just some of the companies here. We specialise in aircraft design, repair and engine maintenance. UK company Rolls-Royce is the second largest engine builder in the world and commands 17 per cent of the international maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market. As well as the big players, the UK boasts Europe's largest proportion of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SME).

Cambridge, Bath, Bristol and Sheffield universities lead the international field in aircraft manufacturing and engineering. Aircraft hangars at Cambridgeshire's Imperial War Museum Duxford are decked out for corporate events.

From software design to satellites, the UK space sector is growing at an annual rate of around ten per cent. Space research hubs include the International Space Innovation Centre and European Space Agency centres at the Harwell Centre in Oxford and the pioneering Institute for Aerospace Technology at the University of Nottingham. Great minds at Manchester, Birmingham and Coventry universities also research physics and astronomy.

Explore the universe and meet astronauts at corporate events in the rocket tower at Leicestershire's National Space Museum.

Watch this space for exciting developments in unmanned satellite technology, masterminded at SciSys in the South West of England and the UK's continuing involvement in the Airbus A380 programme.

Centres of excellence for Aerospace and space technology

Leicestershire, Bristol, Birmingham, Bath, Leeds, Manchester, Coventry, Warwickshire and Shakespeare's England, Cambridge, Sheffield, Oxford, Nottingham