Ashfield – the final frontier?
A Nottinghamshire businessman is pitching for the UK Space Agency to land a rocket in Ashfield.
Nick Mellors, a business consultant with ISPB and founder of not-for-profit Innovation Nottinghamshire has asked the UK Space Agency to bring the Launcher One rocket to Ashfield as part of its Space for Everyone tour.
According to the space agency the tour will showcase the role of space in improving life on Earth and highlight the diverse and varied career paths open to young people looking to enter this fast-growing industry – demonstrating how space works for them, and how they can work for space.
Mellors said: “Ashfield is the birthplace of the Harrier jump-jet as well as being home to the Sherwood Observatory which gathers data from deep space for NASA, I see no reason why we couldn’t inspire our young people further by hosting a rocket visit in the district. On the grounds that if you don’t ask, you don’t get, I contacted the agency’s deputy chief executive and he didn’t say “No”, so why not try to make it happen?”
“The rocket will be travelling from Leicester to Bradford next month so it will be passing through the district, it would be great for the area if we can get it to stop off.”
“In fairness to the agency’s team they have been working on the tour for months so it may not be feasible to divert the rocket at this late stage but, with all the new developments that have been approved for the Sherwood Observatory, I’m hopeful we will be able to do something later.”
Innovation Nottinghamshire is a not-for-profit company set up to inspire business and career opportunities across Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands – including the creation of the UK’s first 5G Careers programme for students across the county.
