The Armchair Astronaut

Hi.

My name is Rowland Lindill, founder of The Armchair Astronaut. We are a non-profit organisation that provides free public outreach, promotion and sponsorship for public Astronaut appearances and Spaceflight events in the United Kingdom and Europe.

We are a family run enterprise, based in the United Kingdom and been offering our services since 2015. As life-long astronomy and spaceflight enthusiasts we attended a few Astronaut events, loved meeting the Astronauts but the events themselves were not always ideal. Over time we witnessed dwindling audience numbers and events being cancelled. Speaking to our friends within the astronomy and spaceflight communities most of them never knew about the Astronaut events they had missed or had only found out after the event when they saw media coverage.

We come from a background of school education and recruitment which includes marketing and event management. We used our 20 years+ experience in these fields to help promote some events and The Armchair Astronaut was born.

The Armchair Astronaut has grown to a community of over 2600 active Spaceflight enthusiasts across the UK and Europe. We're from all walks of life and all united by our passion for Spaceflight and desire to be inspired by meeting Astronauts.

We have directly worked with and/or supported many Astronauts on their UK book tours and UK stage tours since 2015, some detailed further below.

We have hosted private/corporate/educational events with:

• Michael Foale (2017): Supported with two schools visiting Star City, Russia.
• Charlie Duke (2017): Private event plus filming for BBC TV
• Don Thomas (2019): Corporate event and two school visits
• Chris Sembroski (2026): 10 school visits
• Daniel Tani (2026): 2 school visits

In addition to promoting every public Astronaut appearance/event in the UK and Europe since 2015, we have hosted our own public events with:

• Michael Foale (2017)
• Charlie Duke (2017)
• Susan Kilrain (2025)
• Chris Sembroski (2026)
• Daniel Tani (2026)

We have sponsored schools, students and teachers to attend Astronaut events, workshops and UK space attractions/museums:

• "Ask An Astronaut" with Mike Massimino (2016)
• Chris Hadfield (2016)
• Star City, Russia (2017) 
• National Space Centre, UK (2023) (58 students and 6 teachers)
• ISSET Mission Discovery workshop (2024) (2 students)
• National Space Centre, UK (2024) (52 students & 6 teachers)
• "Ask An Astronaut": over 50 primary schools submitted questions for a three ESA Astronauts (2024).
• "Space Social" with Astronaut Susan Kilrain (2025) (41 children and parents subsidised)
• National Space Centre, UK (2025) (59 students and 5 teachers)
• Astronaut Chris Sembroski visit to 10 schools (March 2026)
• Astronaut Daniel Tani visit to 2 schools (July 2026)

In addition to providing free public outreach support for all Astronaut appearances we are always working towards hosting our next public event.

Are you coming to the UK or Europe soon?

Do you have a spare day and interested in meeting with UK space enthusiasts for a public event?

Would you consider coming to UK exclusively for a public event with us?

Why a public event?

One of our key values is "Space Is For Everyone". Every member of the public deserves opportunities to engage with spaceflight, meet Astronauts, and be inspired. Passionate communities like ours help create the demand and energy that fuel a thriving space sector. 

Space is far too vast to be monopolized by any one group, limited to a privileged few or only accessible to certain demographics. It belongs to all of us. That’s why we believe it's essential that everyone feels welcome and inspired by our space events. Space is for dreamers, for the curious, for the next generation who haven’t yet realized what they’re capable of.

The people that attend our events are not experts, but explorers, families, children, adults rediscovering their dreams. People looking up and asking "What if?".

We proudly represent the general public because we were the general public. And that’s exactly what makes us great event managers. We may not have the most impressive titles or the biggest platform, but what we do have is impact, and we see it every time we receive heartfelt praise from guests, young and old. That feedback is all the validation we need. This tells us that our work really matters.

Maybe one day, a child we once welcomed will be building rockets or exploring new worlds. And if we played even a small part in sparking that dream, that’s our reward.

Right now, young people are choosing school subjects that will shape their futures. Adults are chasing new careers, promotions, or personal adventures. Life is full of moments that quietly shape our paths, and you never really know which moment will be the turning point. 

We are looking to host our own Astronaut event in the UK once or twice each year and can accommodate a fully customized itinerary to suit your preferences. With a core membership of just 125 people we focus on small audiences although this number is growing as our public outreach and engagement grows and we open our events to the general public (because space is for everyone).

• Ideally we require a 6 month lead time but can deliver in as little as 3 months depending on the requirements and agreed itinerary.
• We will cover expenses and agree an honorarium.
• We are currently using the prestigious Cranfield University as our venue for events.

We have event itinerary templates which have been created based on best practice for the UK audience including feedback from guests, or we can discuss a unique event itinerary just for you.

Please make contact with us and we will be pleased to explore options.