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UK Space Tour 2023
Space for Everyone!
The UK Space Agency is touring around the UK all throughout 2023 with a giant 72ft replica rocket!
"Want to know why?"
Well, not many people realise just how much we're doing in space! So, what better way to get everyone's attention than with a GIANT ROCKET!?
The "Space for Everyone" tour is designed to help anyone learn about the giant industry of space travel which is growing fast. There are so many different kinds of jobs and skills needed, it's actually not all about being an astronaut or building rockets!
Who will be there?
The UK Space Agency have representatives who are running the event with the replica rocket and an amazing virtual reality experience.
Supporting the event are dozens of companies around the country, who will be there to inspire you with how they are involved with space!
Each location of the tour will host many different businesses - so you'll have to go along to see what's happening in your local area.
Tour schedule 2023
Swansea | Museum Park | 22 June - 26 June |
Leicester | National Space Centre | 29 June - 03 July |
Bradford | Centenary Square | 06 July - 10 July |
Belfast | Cathedral Gardens | 20 July - 24 July |
Aberdeen | Queens Links | 03 August - 07 August |
Newcastle | Times Square | 10 August - 14 August |
Hull | Queen Victoria Square | 17 August - 21 August |
Great Yarmouth | Sea Life Gardens | 24 August - 28 August |
Hastings | Hastings Pier | 31 August - 4 September |
Why display the Launcher One Rocket?
The company, Virgin Orbit, uses rockets like the Launcher One to send satellites into space (to orbit around the Earth and help us with improved technology).
The satellite is secured to the rocket, which is flown up high into the air by an airplane. Virgin were using a Boeing 747-400 aircraft called "Cosmic Girl". (It's just like the kind of plane that used to take people on their holidays!)
Using Cosmic Girl the rocket could launch from much higher in the air and save on lots of fuel. The Launcher One rocket uses Newton engines to fly and was the very first to fly on all liquid fuel.
At the start of 2023, the United Kingdom had it's very first space launch - with Cosmic Girl and the Launcher One rocket. The mission was to take 9 satellites up into space.
Unfortunately, one of the engines of the rocket overheated and shut down so that the mission could not be completed. However, it still means that the United Kingdom has a real space port (in Cornwall) and there will be lots more space missions to come!
The UK Space industry
"So what would more space missions mean here in the UK?"
For every "small" mission up in space, there can be thousands of people needed on Earth to help make it happen! Sure, we'll need some of them to be scientists, physicists, and mathematicians, but we also need many more people to work in areas like graphic design, communications, and websites too.
Then imagine what kind of skills we'll need when we set up our first human colony on Mars too!
Get involved
Come along to a tour location if you can and learn more about what the future holds for working in or around space!
Read more about the UK Space Agency on the gov.uk website.
You can also learn more about space from home with our free eLearning! Fantom Factory is very proud to support the UK Space Tour 2023!
Come and see me in the Dashboard to get started!
STEM Futures is our new digital education initiative to help more people learn about operations in space and how to get more involved.