US space leaders to touch down in North East for whistle‑stop tour of regional innovation
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A Senior delegation from Space Florida is making a flying visit to the North East for a tour of some of the region’s most exciting space, engineering and advanced‑manufacturing projects.
The whistle-stop visit, with the US delegation arriving this Sunday, follows last year’s successful Space North East England (SNEE) conference, which Space Florida attended, and a visit to Florida last month by North East delegates.
Those involved in this year’s SNEE conference in Durham in June are hoping the visit from the Americans will turbocharge relationships developed over the last year.
Lisa Mullen, Interim Cluster Director of Space North East England, said: “Space Florida is well aware of the UK’s growing capabilities in the space sector and made a point of visiting several areas across the country involved in this sector last year.
“However, the North East is the only place they have planned a specific, follow-up visit to this year, because they’re excited about the possible collaborations and link-ups that can be made.
"They will spend all Monday reviewing projects across the region, and we're looking forward to showing them projects we think they'll be especially interested in.”
Space Florida’s delegation next week will be led by Matt Chesnut, its vice president of business development, who has previously emphasised his commitment to strengthening transatlantic links with the UK.
As well as Matt, the small Space Florida leadership group will also include Zach Bettis, Space Sector business development manager, Jimmy Moffat, vice president of Spaceport Operations and Rufus Brabble, the Consul General to Miami.
Lisa says SNEE's job next week will be to showcase the region’s growing capabilities in satellite technology, instrumentation, and high‑value manufacturing.
The tour will begin at 3S Northumbria - a start-up led by Ralph ‘Dinz’ Dinsley, the charismatic creator of a company creating ways to tackle the growing problem of space debris in the atmosphere, posing a risk to satellites.
From there, the delegation will head to Northumbria University to meet the team behind the new £50m North East Space Skills and Technology Centre (NESST) — the university’s cutting‑edge space engineering and satellite‑testing facilities currently under development.
The group will get an update on the building’s construction and hear how the site will boost research, skills and industry collaboration once complete.
The afternoon will be spent at NETPark in Sedgefield, the region’s flagship science and technology park.
Space Florida representatives will join a working lunch with companies from the Space North East England cluster, who will showcase their expertise and current projects.
The session will also include an overview of Durham University’s SPARC (Space Research Centre), which leads research into astrophysics, instrumentation and space‑science applications.
The delegation will then tour Durham’s Centre for Advanced Instrumentation (CfAI), home to world‑class facilities that develop optics and precision instruments for astronomy and space missions.
And the visit concludes at Filtronic’s new NETPark facility, where the US team will see one of the region’s strongest space‑manufacturing success stories. Filtronic specialises in advanced RF, microwave and mmWave technologies used in satellite communications and high‑performance aerospace systems.
Lisa Mullen said the visit was a major opportunity to showcase the region’s capabilities on a global stage.“Space Florida is one of the most influential organisations in the US commercial space sector, so hosting them here is a fantastic endorsement of what our region is achieving,” she said. “We want them to see the ambition, the skills and the collaborative spirit that make the North East such a strong partner for future space‑sector growth.”
Further discussions between the organisations are expected following the visit.
* This year's North East Space Conference is due to be held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Durham on Tuesday, June 9th, from 9 am to 3 pm. Entry is free. For more information, visit the Space North East England page here.
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