A space-age tech company is to set up a new office in Llanbedr.

The Satellite Applications Catapult this week announced that it will open a new regional office at the Snowdonia Aerospace Centre in Llanbedr.

The office, which will open this month, will promote the development of satellite applications and services that benefit the rural economy, with an initial focus on healthcare.

The site at Llanbedr offers a number of advantages in this area, including a remote location in which to test rural service solutions, and access to controlled airspace for testing new applications using unmanned aerial vehicles for delivery and situational awareness.

Llanbedr is also one of the UK sites identified as a possible spaceport for horizontal launch, and the Satellite Applications Catapult would be well placed to support the development of a local and national technological base that can fully exploit the synergies between any such future development and existing programmes.

Alan Cox, chief commercial officer at the Satellite Applications Catapult, said: “Rural communities are increasingly challenged in terms of healthcare provision as resources become focussed on a small number of specialist centres, often at significant distance from patients.

“The Snowdonia Aerospace Centre will provide a capability that complements and grows on our activities promoting business growth using UAVs and advanced communications at the Westcott Venture Park Space Cluster in Buckinghamshire, and will build on successful telemedicine solutions trialled in the Scottish Highlands.”

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