APOGEE STAFF
The United Kingdom Space Command is expanding its space training and education with the opening of a new U.K. Space Academy for defense personnel as well as students from industry, academia and international partners.
The Space Academy, declared operational in September 2023, will now be housed in a building to be redeveloped at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, near the village of Shrivenham southwest of Oxford. The building is adjacent to the Defence Cyber Academy, enabling both academies to share facilities and training expertise.
The Defence Academy, part of Strategic Command within the Ministry of Defence, provides professional defense and security education, sharpening the armed forces’ intellectual edge, according to a November 2023 report on the website of the Royal Air Force (RAF).
“Space skills are critical to the U.K.’s growing space sector,” Paul Godfrey, then air vice-marshal and commander of U.K. Space Command, said in announcing the establishment of the academy. “Our new location at the Defence Academy in Oxfordshire will allow us to maximize our growth and inspire the U.K.’s future space workforce alongside industry and academia.” U.K. Space Command is a joint command based at RAF High Wycombe between London and Oxford.