Telespazio VEGA UK
| Company type | Private (Subsidiary of Telespazio) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Space |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Headquarters | Luton, Bedfordshire, UK |
Key people | Sarah Macken (CEO) |
Number of employees | 120 (2023) |
| Parent | Telespazio |
| Website | telespazio.co.uk |
Telespazio UK Ltd. is a British space company based in Luton, Bedfordshire. Founded in 1978 by a small group of engineers at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, Telespazio UK presently works with various space agencies, satellite operators and manufacturers around the world. It works with the European Space Agency (ESA) and ESA Centre for Earth Observation (ESRIN) in Rome, Italy, ESOC in Germany, European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands and European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Madrid, Spain.
Since 1978, VEGA has worked on almost every ESA mission and many other European and international programmes, including Mars Express, the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) for the International Space Station (ISS), the Eumetsat Polar System, and the Ground Segment Development for ADEN.
On 1 January 2011, VEGA Space Ltd became a part of Telespazio, the Rome-based space systems services joint venture between the Italian aerospace and defence group Leonardo and the French defense electronics specialist Thales Group. Telespazio UK is an active member of the UK Space Agency, the trade association for Britain's space industry, and is heavily involved with the International Space Innovation Centre based in Harwell.