To Florida, NASA and beyond! North East delegation flies flag for region’s space sector

EXPERTS, entrepreneurs, innovators, and scientists from the North East have travelled to the United States to seek interest and investment in the region’s booming space sector.

The Space North East England delegation touched down in Orlando for Florida Commercial Space Week, kicking off a packed programme of conferences, meetings and site visits across the Space Coast.

The delegation included representatives from UK space companies and the North East’s universities, all travelling with a shared ambition to build international partnerships, showcase capability and explore new opportunities for collaboration.

Those taking part included Durham, Newcastle and Northumbria universities as well as North East companies MSP and NEL Technologies.

Lisa Mullen, Interim Cluster Manager of Space North East England who coordinated and led the trip, said: “Our mission brought the North East England’s leading innovators into the heart of Florida’s booming space ecosystem during Commercial Space Week to SpaceCom 2026. 

“It helped us forge new collaborations and opened market opportunities, as well as reinforcing transatlantic links across the commercial space sector.”

Over the course of the five-day visit, which concluded at the weekend, the North East team met global space leaders, showcased North East and UK capability and built relationships that will support future growth and investment.

The first day was spent at the University of Central Florida, with the delegate programme focusing on industry, academia, and the broader space ecosystem.

The next day, the delegation headed to Florida’s Space Coast for meetings and site visits with some of the world’s most influential space organisations, including Space Florida.

The third day included a tour of the NASA Kennedy Space Centre to gain firsthand insight into the scale of their space launch operations and to learn what it takes to put a rocket in orbit for deep-space travel.

The highlight was seeing the SLS rocket on the launchpad during the final preparations before launch as part of the Artemis II mission, which will see crew on a lunar flyby to test the Orion spacecraft’s navigation, life support, and other systems in deep space, ahead of future landing missions. 

Suitably inspired, the final two days were spent attending Commercial Space Week, SpaceCom 2026 in Orlando to pitch their products and services to potential investors and partners. 

Lisa said: “It was a fantastic visit for the delegation and we hope we’ve done the North East proud and that the relationships we’ve built and the contacts we’ve made will benefit the region’s space sector, which has continued to go from strength to strength in recent years.

“There’s no substitute for being in the room where things are happening, and it was great for us to be there representing the region, showing the skills and expertise we can contribute to investors in this field.”

The visit was arranged by the Government’s Department for Business and Trade and hosted by the British Consulate General in Miami. 

A delegation from Space Florida is expected to visit the North East next month to further strengthen international ties and develop existing links.  Space North East England is looking to bring everything together when it holds its annual North East Space Conference for regional, national and international delegates this June.

Keep up to date with the latest news and events from Space North East England here https://www.spacenortheastengland.com/