The UK Space Agency is opening an office in Wales.

The office, based at William Morgan House in Cardiff, joins other newly-opened locations in Edinburgh, Leicester and the new headquarters at Harwell Space Cluster in Oxfordshire as part of an expansion to support the space sector across the UK.

The Welsh space sector currently generates £79 million in income annually and employs more than 600 people.

Dr Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, said: "This is a transformational moment for the UK Space Agency, responding directly to the feedback that the Agency should be embedded in the sector."

He described Wales as having a long-standing heritage in aerospace and manufacturing, and he emphasised the need to nurture and connect the growing number of Welsh space organisations.

Welsh Secretary David TC Davies expressed his delight, stating the UK government has invested significantly in companies like Cardiff's Space Forge.

John Whalley, CEO of Space Wales, described the new office as a transformative opportunity for the Welsh space sector.

The Agency's new structure will focus on high-growth areas like Earth observation and satellite broadband, also touching on emerging markets such as active space debris removal and the lunar economy.