Farnborough International Airshow

The UK Space Agency Space Sustainability team joined colleagues at Farnborough International Airshow on Tuesday 23 July.

Farnborough International Airshow is held once every two years, at Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre.  The show predominantly caters to the aviation and defence sectors, but has a dedicated Space Zone.

The UK Space Agency had a significant presence with a large stand, incorporating two small meeting rooms, desks hosting industry colleagues, and an interactive pufferfish display providing data on missions supported by the Agency.  Numerous staff were on hand to answer questions and engage with stakeholders. 

There were talks and panels organised through the week, including hearing from ESA AStronaut Rosemary Coogan and ESA Reserve Astronaut John McFall, an ESA Moon to Mars panel featuring Libby Jackson, Head of Exploration, an ESA EO panel “From Earth Observation to Earth Action” with Harshbir Sangha. Director of Earth Observation and “Women in the space sector: experiences, challenges & opportunities” panel moderated by Annelies Look, Deputy CEO, UK Space Agency.

Announcements included finalists of the Aqualunar Challenge, £33m in funding awards through the National Space Innovations Programme (NSIP) , several of which fund technology related to Space Sustainability, and a plan to build on the success of the European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT) in Harwell. 

There was an announcement that Tim Peake will be joining Axiom as strategic advisor for an all-UK human spaceflight mission, and Peter Kyle, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)’s new Secretary of State, delivered his first speech at the airshow on Monday.

Several members of the Sustainability team were present on the stand for a "Meet the Teams" session on Tuesday morning, then had numerous meetings throughout the day with both new and existing stakeholders.  

The event was a great success and we look forward to returning in 2026.