Space North East England showcases the region at Farnborough International Airshow
- Aug 4
- 4 min read
As another successful Farnborough International Airshow comes to a close, Space North East England has been proud to represent the North East from the Lockheed Martin Space Zone, showcasing the businesses, universities, facilities and expertise that make the region one of the UK’s most exciting space clusters.
Throughout the week, the team took part in a busy programme of national and international engagement, meeting with industry leaders, government representatives, investors, international partners and fellow space clusters.
These conversations provided valuable opportunities to share the North East’s growing space capabilities, strengthen existing relationships and explore new opportunities for collaboration, investment and growth.
Connecting across the UK space sector
The week began with a fantastic opportunity to connect with partners from across the space sector in the Lockheed Martin Space Zone.
The team attended the Government Opening Keynote in the Space Zone Theatre, where Baroness Lloyd of Effra CBE, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, shared the Government’s ambitions for the future of the UK space sector.
Space North East England also joined the official opening of the Space Florida pavilion, helping to strengthen relationships with one of the world’s leading space economies and explore opportunities for future collaboration.
With discussions taking place throughout the week around investment, infrastructure and innovation, Farnborough provided an important platform to showcase the North East’s growing space ecosystem and connect with organisations from across the UK and beyond.
Strengthening regional partnerships with Lockheed Martin
Space North East England was also pleased to take part in two events hosted by Lockheed Martin during the week.
The North East VIP Lunch brought together representatives from the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, Northumbria University, NESST, Business Durham, New College Durham and Lockheed Martin.
The event provided an opportunity to strengthen relationships, discuss the region’s growing space capabilities and reinforce the importance of collaboration between industry, academia and government.
Later in the afternoon, the team joined customers, partners, ministers and colleagues from across the UK space sector at Lockheed Martin’s Networking Drinks reception in the Space Zone.
Building on the success of last year’s event, the reception provided an opportunity to reconnect with existing contacts, make new connections and exchange ideas on the opportunities and challenges facing the sector.
A huge thank you to Lockheed Martin for bringing together organisations from across the space community and for hosting Space North East England in the Space Zone throughout the show.
Building international connections
International collaboration was another important part of the week, with Space North East England engaging with organisations from Belgium and India.
The team was delighted to join aerospace and space organisations from the UK and Belgium at a reception hosted by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to the United Kingdom, HE Mr Jeroen Cooreman.
The event brought together a delegation of more than 50 leading Belgian businesses, alongside UK partners working across aerospace, space, technology and innovation. It provided a valuable opportunity to build international relationships, gain a greater understanding of complementary capabilities and explore future collaboration between businesses and organisations in Belgium and the North East.
Thank you to the Embassy of Belgium in the United Kingdom, Flanders Investment & Trade - Germany and the Wallonia Export & Investment Agency (AWEX) for bringing the sector together during Farnborough International Airshow.
The team also welcomed a delegation from India, providing an opportunity to showcase the North East’s space capabilities and explore potential links between the two regions.
Alongside this, Space North East England met with Rebecca Evernden CBE, Director at the UK Space Agency, alongside colleagues from NESST. The meeting helped strengthen the North East’s connections with national partners and highlight the role the region is playing within the wider UK space sector.
Working together as a UK space cluster
Farnborough also provided an opportunity to connect with space clusters from across the UK.
Fay Gibson represented Space North East England at the UK Space Agency’s Meet the Clusters session, joining representatives from across the UK Space Cluster Network to discuss the support, expertise and opportunities available through regional space clusters.
The session highlighted the importance of collaboration across the UK space ecosystem and the role that regional clusters play in supporting businesses, researchers and organisations within their respective regions.
Looking ahead for the North East space sector
Events like Farnborough International Airshow are an important reminder that the future of the space sector will be built through partnerships.
From strengthening existing relationships and connecting with international partners to meeting government representatives, industry leaders and fellow UK space clusters, the conversations throughout the week have reinforced the North East’s growing reputation as a place where innovation, talent and ambition come together.
Farnborough has provided a valuable platform to raise the profile of the North East space sector, showcase the capabilities within the region and explore opportunities that could support future growth.
A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to meet with the Space North East England team throughout the week, and to Lockheed Martin for hosting us in the Space Zone.
We’re looking forward to turning the connections and conversations from Farnborough into opportunities that will help support the continued growth of the North East space sector.
