Companies operating in the North East space and satellite applications sectors can benefit from a wide range of facilities, support and networks to help their businesses grow.
NETPark
Located in Durham, the North East Technology Park (NETPark) is one of the UK’s premier science, engineering and technology parks for the commercialisation of cutting-edge research and development by major international organisations, universities and entrepreneurs.
NETPark is one of the UK’s premier science parks with 30-plus companies with over 550 highly-skilled jobs
NETPark features a new space incubator, funded by the UK Space Agency, which works with the North East Satellite Applications Centre of Excellence to nurture start-up businesses and develop new technologies in these fields.
North East Satellite Applications Centre of Excellence
The North East Satellite Applications Centre of Excellence is a consortium that includes all five universities in the region and other private and public sector partners. Funded by the Satellite Applications Catapult and the UK Space Agency, the centre stimulates and supports the space community in the region.
Since 2014, the NE Satellite Applications Centre of Excellence helped organisations secure, £9.2m funding, engaged with over 670 entities and seeded more than 280 collaboration
The centre helps companies all of sizes to unlock opportunities to develop space technology and data. It offers one-to-one support, events, connections to potential investors and collaborators, and provides expertise in commercialisation. Its virtual team includes the European Space Agency Ambassador for the Midlands and North East and Northern Orbit – EEN services that can help find international suppliers and customers.
National Innovation Centre for Data
The £30 million National Innovation Centre for Data, based in The Catalyst building on Newcastle Helix, is a unique facility focused on accelerating innovation. It delivers key technical and practical data skills into organisations to improve business competitiveness and increase growth using digital data.
Upcoming projects
The North East Space Hub (NESH) project aims to provide the capabilities and facilities to enable businesses in the space and adjacent sectors to innovate, thrive and scale-up. It plans to create a hub of space companies at NETPark and provide one of the main UK gateways for engagement and support. This is an ambitious plan for the region that incorporates a public-private funded space-enabling hub that features elements of a Disruptive Innovation for Space Centre (DISC), an incubation/accelerator and grow-on facilities for upstream (hardware) and downstream (satellite data and communications) businesses and start-ups.
NETPark, County Durham 
National Innovation Centre for Data, Newcastle Helix
