The first-ever visit to Northern Ireland by a serving NASA space crew – made possible as a result of funding offered by NISP and the Department of Education – drew a range of education and business sector stakeholders.

In June, the seven-man crew – led by Commander Mark Kelly – conveyed critical payload and rotated relief personnel at the International Space Station. This mission has been described by NASA as “the nearest to perfection that has been achieved”, and the crew are on a UK-wide tour to talk about their experiences.

NISP Chief Executive Norman Apsley said: “Belfast, in its own way is a maritime ‘Cape Canaveral’ that revolutionised industry and engineering, has so much of which to be proud. As soon as something was invented, Belfast put it to use for its businesses, much as NASA does today; so this visit by the shuttle crew to celebrate innovation and achievement is especially apt.

“I am very pleased to be able to welcome the shuttle crew for this public unveiling of our newly refurbished facility, which will provide exciting new space for tourism, education and businesses alike. We hope to see even greater numbers of educational visits from local schools as a result of this visit.”

The shuttle crew’s visit to the UK has been organised by International Space School Educational Trust (ISSET, www.isset.org) and is designed to inspire young people to work hard on their education and particularly to take up study and careers in science, technology, engineering or maths.

Mission Commander Mark Kelly, a veteran of three space missions, said: “The crew are extremely pleased of the opportunity to visit Northern Ireland and to visit an area so intimately involved with the story of scientific innovation and maritime history.

“We hope that our experiences and the story of space flight will help to inspire school children and to increase the popularity of science-related subjects.”

The other members of the crew are Karen Nyberg, Mike Fossum, Ken Ham, Ron Garran and Akihiko Hoshide of the Japanese Space Agency.