Nasa commissions glass rocket from grandfather

Roland Berry's art will be sent to the US, where it will hang in a Nasa office

A grandfather who makes coloured glass creations at home says he was "delighted" to receive a commission from US space agency Nasa.

Roland Berry from Cheltenham, who has been seen by millions on TikTok, has created a 38in x 15in coloured glass panel with Nasa's first space launch system (SLS) rocket on it.

The piece will hang in the office of Jennifer Butler Vollmer, Nasa's flight operations manager, at the agency's site in Alabama.

"It's a combination of very old and very new," Mr Berry said of the artwork.

He added: "[Ms Butler Vollmer] just said she was an engineer in Alabama, working for Nasa, and I didn't really think much about it other than I was delighted to get a commission.

"But it turns out she's one of the top ladies at Nasa. I've been on the phone to her a few times and she seems a delightful lady."

While Mr Berry, and others, refer to his work as stained glass he said it is actually coloured glass - it would be stained glass if it was painted on or stained.

"It's an absolutely up-to-date image on an absolutely ancient, traditional way of working," he said of the piece.