This was a fascinating and informative but most of all a really interesting visit.  Prof. Craig Underwood began by demonstrating how modern society, without necessarily realising, relies and depends on space technology.

Moving on, he explained how it had become necessary in the late 1990s to explain to the UK Government how much the UK space industry was worth.  Surrey Space Centre started in 1971 and over the intervening years has launched over 70 missions using a variety of facilities including the USA, Russia and India.

We were also told about the evolution of satellites ranging from large to the current cube.  The visit ended with a guided tour of the facilities including glimpses into the “clean room” and “mission control”.

One really interesting fact - Elon Musk learned about satellites etc. at the Surrey Space Centre.

Many thanks to Helen for organising such an interesting visit.

Photos from the visit on 16 October 2025