In February 2026, NEL Technologies joined a delegation from Space North East England for a five-day visit to Florida, taking in Commercial Space Week, SpaceCom 2026, and a tour of NASA Kennedy Space Centre.
The trip was coordinated by Lisa Mullen, Interim Cluster Manager of Space North East England, and brought together North East companies, universities, and space organisations to build international partnerships and showcase the region’s capability in the commercial space sector. The visit was arranged by the Department for Business and Trade and hosted by the British Consulate General in Miami.
The delegation included representatives from Durham, Newcastle, and Northumbria universities alongside NEL Technologies and MSP. Over the course of the visit, the team met global space leaders, held meetings with Space Florida, and toured facilities across the Space Coast.
The standout moment was seeing the SLS rocket on the launchpad at Kennedy Space Centre during final preparations for the Artemis II mission – the crewed lunar flyby that will test the Orion spacecraft’s navigation and life support systems ahead of future landing missions. The final two days were spent at SpaceCom 2026 in Orlando, pitching to investors and partners from across the global space industry.
NEL was part of the delegation because we make the kind of components space programmes depend on – flexible heaters that keep satellite systems operational in vacuum, precision-etched metal parts, and fully assembled units tested and quality-approved under one roof. We have been doing this for over 35 years across aerospace, medical, defence, and telecommunications, and the space sector demands exactly the same discipline – traceability, documentation, and getting it right first time.
The connections made in Florida are already developing. A delegation from Space Florida is expected to visit the North East to strengthen transatlantic ties further, and Space North East England will hold its annual North East Space Conference in June 2026. As an employee-owned company, NEL’s team has a direct stake in making sure these relationships turn into real work – and the commercial space sector is an area where North East precision manufacturing has a genuine role to play.
As featured in
Coverage of the Space North East England delegation to Florida:
The Northern Echo – North East’s space sector shows off skills to US businesses
Sunderland Echo – North East delegation visits NASA to fly flag for region’s space sector
If you are developing a space programme component and need precision manufacturing support, speak to our engineering team. Share your requirements and we will confirm feasibility, materials, and lead times.