Westcott Venture Park is set to welcome rocket engineers from across the globe this summer as it hosts the 2026 Race2Space competition, now in its fourth year and backed by the UK Space Agency.
Running from 21 June to 10 July, the three-week programme will see 32 teams and 250 students from over 20 countries including Mexico, Australia, France, India and South Korea etc come to Westcott to design, build and hot-fire their own rocket engines.
The competition concludes with the Race2Space Symposium on 10 July which brings together students, industry leaders, government organisations, and academics from across the UK and international space sector. The symposium will be held at the Skylark, Westcott's flagship conference and events hub at the heart of the park.
From just a handful of UK universities in its first year, Race2Space has doubled in size every year since its 2023 launch, evolving from a national competition into a truly international event that draws the brightest young propulsion engineers from around the world.
The competition is backed by the UK Space Agency, which has confirmed its commitment to fund Race2Space for a further three years, alongside co-sponsors Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), Buckinghamshire Council and Nammo UK. The renewed support underlines the competition's growing role in addressing the UK space sector's critical skills shortage, with over half of UK space companies reporting they cannot find enough suitably qualified graduates.
Since 2023, 58 teams have completed around 100 engine tests at Westcott, generating nearly 1,000 kNs of total impulse. The programme provides the kind of hands-on, practical experience that the £18.6 billion UK space sector urgently needs, while actively working to broaden access to space careers for women and underrepresented groups.
Dr Alistair John, Programme Lead for Aerospace Engineering at the University of Sheffield and Race2Space Co-founder, said: "There is no shortage of talent in Britain, but if the UK wants to lead in the global space race, we need more graduates with real-world, hands-on experience.
“Race2Space gives students exciting opportunities to work on complex, real-life challenges, helping to create a pipeline of job-ready graduates which the sector so desperately needs. The UK cannot afford to overlook untapped potential, and we are working hard to broaden access to space careers for women and underrepresented groups across the country."
The competition arrives at a moment of real momentum for the Westcott with the completion of the landmark £16m Plot 9000 development, delivering the Skylark Café, conference centre and Orbis9000 industrial units. The Plot9000 scheme has also provided a new home for Westcott Shared Facilities, bringing on-demand access to world-class shared technical infrastructure to the Westcott Space Cluster. While existing cluster businesses URA Thrusters and Skyports Drone Services have expanded into new flagship facilities.
Nigel MacKenzie, Development Manager at Westcott, said: "The fact that Race2Space now draws 250 students from across 20 countries says everything about how far this competition has travelled in just four years.
“Westcott has been central to British rocket propulsion for 80 years, and events like this sit right at the heart of what makes this place special. Alongside the CanSat competition earlier this year, which brought 400 young engineers to the site, Race2Space is a vital part of how we inspire the next generation and show them the extraordinary opportunities that exist within the UK space sector right here in Buckinghamshire."
The Symposium on 10 July will feature student rocket engine displays, tours of Westcott's propulsion test facilities, keynote speakers, panel discussions and networking with representatives from organisations including the UK Space Agency, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, MBDA, SSTL, the MOD, the Satellite Applications Catapult and many more.
Registration is open at https://lnkd.in/eUAVCsMk
