, the message from the U.K. Space Agency in the hours following the mission's failure was that the U.K. still aimed to be a player in orbital spaceflight. Having sovereign launch capability is beneficial to both the space sector and to inspire young people to get involved in STEAM fields, government officials said.
"We want to make sure that we continue to develop our nation so that people have those kinds of skills, and who can then continue to work either in the space industry or other technical industries in the U.K. and make sure that we become a nation that builds things and does great engineering projects again," Annett said.
The wealth of potential within the U.K. space sector is starting to be unlocked, officials say, and enterprises like Space City Leicester are helping to build a collaborative community of researchers, businesses and industry professionals that are vital in helping not only grow the U.K. space industry but also its influence on the global stage.
"Space City Leicester combines world-leading expertise with major assets such as Space Park Leicester and the National Space Centre to boldly build on what we have here in Leicester and Leicestershire." Andy Reed OBE, co-chair of the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership , said in a statement.
"It will create a world-leading cluster of research and development that will bring growth, investment, and many hundreds of jobs to our region."