East Hampshire students have joined the space race as an exciting new programme at Alton College has got them reaching for the stars.

Staff and special guests had a blast last Wednesday when the Space and Satellite Hub officially opened in the Beacon Science Building. 

The hub is part of the Space Technologies Programme with £500,000 from the North Hampshire & Surrey Local Skills Improvement Fund being invested into the facility.

It will also act as a genuine launchpad to get one foot in the space industry as students who sign up to the “innovative new programme” will get to use industry-standard facilities and equipment.

They will also get unique opportunities with Surrey Space Centre and the Portsmouth Research Institute for Space Missions respectively based at the universities of Surrey and Portsmouth.

There’s also a real chance of career progression as the region and its Space South Central cluster is home to key employers in the space and satellite industry.

Special guests at the launch included Suzie Imber, a professor of Planetary Science at the University of Leicester, who specialise in studying space weather. She encouraged students to “be brave and take chances” while giving her thumbs-up to the hub.

She said: “I have been so impressed with what you’ve managed to achieve and I hope this is the first of many courses like this.”

Professor Keith Ryden from the Surrey Space Centre also offered his “absolute congratulations” to Alton College to starting up the space hub.

He added: “You’re really taking the initiative – further education hasn’t historically been on the front line so it’s great you’re filling that gap.”

College leaders also spoke of their pride in setting up a space hub at Alton campus with the facility being one of just a handful in the UK to offer the experience.