NASA is landing in the North-East to tell firms how they can join the UK's £7.5bn space race.

Spacetech, a conference about new developments and opportunities in the space industry, will highlight billions of pounds worth of potential contracts which could benefit a range of businesses from welding companies to science firms.

The event in County Durham will include a talk from NASA on the organisation's plans and the contracts that will become available in the future.

Other speakers include Tim Stevenson of the Square Kilometre Array Telescope Programme, (SKA) a £1.2bn project on which engineering companies in the region have already won work.

SKA will include about 3,000 dishes, spread over thousands of kilometres to deliver the biggest radio telescope in history.

A year ago it emerged that DPE Automotive and Durham Precision Engineering, both based in Newton Aycliffe, had been awarded work connected to the seven-year project which will bid to unlock the secrets of the universe.

The conference, to be held at NETPark, near Sedgefield, in February has been organised by County Durham Development Company (CDDC), the business support arm of Durham County Council which manages the facility.

CDDC managing director Stewart Watkins said: "The space industry represents a significant opportunity for the region's science and technology community, and hosting an event like this in the North East is a fantastic chance to highlight some of the more immediate contract prospects available to our businesses.

"However, while companies might be forgiven for thinking that the opportunities that exist in this sector are limited to science companies, they would be very much mistaken.

"The chance for more traditional companies, like those in metal fabrication or welding for instance, to capitalise on this sector are equally vast."

It is thought that opportunities within the UK space sector are worth around £7.5bn annually.

While the space technology sector grew by some ten per cent last year, more than 90 per cent of the jobs it created were in the south-east and the conference is aiming to redress the balance.

Businesses interested in attending the conference in February can find more details at www.northeasttechnologypark.com/spacetech.