West End supports the test phase of Space Industry with Ground Support Equipment, almost since Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.
We are specialised in maintenance / refurbishment, engineering and tailor made equipment. Next to Space, West End is active in Aviation and Industry. West End is family owned and run since 1947.
Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE) is the equipment used in the Assembly, Integration and Test (AIT) facilities of our customers and typically includes items such as lifting equipment,
flight hardware interface adaptors, tip and tilt trolleys, special test adaptors and (internal) transport equipment. As an example: West End manufactured almost all MGSE for the Solar Array of the Artemis mission to the Moon.
West End builds specialised transport containers for space flight hardware or astronomy optical hardware. Both types of hardware often need integrated handling, vacuum conditions and shock absorption. Containers for large spacerelated items require special consideration due to the size
constraints for transportation and for the very high value and sensitive nature of the contents. Well known projects regarding containers and MGSE are Tropomi, Galileo, Bepicolombo and Sentinel 5.
Next to MGSE and Containers, West End is involved in Ground Based Astronomy with a long history in tooling, housings and fine-mechanical calibration equipment. A recent project we take pride in is the adaptive mirror development of the UH-88 telescope. We are partnering with TNO and Demcon on the ELT Laser Projection Subunits Cover System of ESO in Chili.
Last but not least, West End also manufactures flight hardware for the VEGA rockets.