A consortium including Oxford University has bought the majority of Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station in Cornwall. Oxford will work with defence technology firm QinetiQ and the UK Space Agency to turn the former telecommunications hub into a world class space centre.
Steve Rawlings, Professor of Astrophysics at Oxford and academic head of the 1.5 billion Euro Swuare Kilometre Array Radio Astronomy Project (SKA), said, “The opportunity to include Goonhilly in a number of leading radio astronomy projects and related research and development work is truly exciting.
He said that the University is “thrilled by the possibilities of having its students and staff down in Cornwall where the new outreach centre will attract many young new scientists who will be rubbing shoulders with top flight engineers and physicists from around the world.”
