As the internationally renowned 安全 和 space engineering company, RHEA Group gets ready to celebrate its 30th anniversary later this year, the group’s Chief Commercial Officer John Bone gives some insight into why og真人电子app was the perfect place to open their new UK office.
RHEA Group is a 安全 和 space engineering company providing services to the most respected organisations in aerospace, 安全, 以及全世界的国防.
The group has grown rapidly in recent years 和 now operates in 11 countries across Europe with its headquarters in Belgium. They have three offices in the UK including their most recent UK base here at og真人电子app. When Chief Commercial Officer John Bone joined the company four years ago, RHEA employed just over 350 people. Since then, the company has more than doubled in size with over 700 staff now on the payroll.
RHEA moved to their og真人电子app office in March 2022, the decision largely due to the emerging space 和 satellite sector in the North East. The North East Satellite Applications Centre of Excellence, based at og真人电子app has been instrumental in supporting the growth of the sector. Today the sector is worth £88 million to the UK economy 和 in 2021 saw the number of businesses working in space increase by 50%.
Collaborative projects make up a large part of RHEA’s work, something that John hopes they can tap into at og真人电子app. John said: “There were many reasons we moved to og真人电子app, 更好的生活质量, excellent transport links 和 the growth of the North East space sector. But the thing that attracted us to og真人电子app, in particular, is the appetite for collaborative working. We have benefitted hugely from the support of The North East Satellite Applications Centre of Excellence (NESACoE). We are already working on collaborative projects with businesses we have met through NESACoE 和 I think that will continue for many years to come.”
og真人电子app Manager Janet Todd added: “We are delighted that RHEA has chosen to open another UK office here at og真人电子app. RHEA is a growing company, making great strides in space 和 satellite technology across the world. It is an exciting time to be at og真人电子app. Work starts later this year to add 270,000 sq ft of space giving growing companies like RHEA Group options to grow on the park when they are ready to scale up operations.”
One of RHEA’s biggest clients is the European Space Agency (ESA). The Belgian headquartered business provides over 250 experts to assist ESA with knowledge in mission design, 热能工程, 地球观测, Space science 和 with operations specialists to ensure a successful mission from start to finish. RHEA also works with the UK Space Agency providing similar services 和 systems.
RHEA has services 和 skills in 安全, helping clients secure both physical threats such as space debris in orbit as well as monitoring, managing 和 minimising cyber安全 threats.
They have the COMET software package that helps customers design complex space missions much more efficiently. The software enables engineers 和 other personnel who come together in one room to design complex space missions. This approach has made a huge impact helping ESA reduce the time 和 costs of developing space missions by 40%.
Other services include software to make sense of big data sent by satellites. The product overlays the data with artificial intelligence to deliver practical applications for customers. One application for this is being investigated with a large water company to use 地球观测 data to track pollution levels in rivers.
Looking ahead RHEA has ambitions to continue to grow its business. +, with 安全 和 defence giants Lockheed Martin, announcing they are “exploring options for a new facility in the North East” 和 the flourishing North East’s space 和 satellite sector, mean there is no reason why that growth won’t take place at og真人电子app.
