ORBITAL, Pixies and Alt-J are among the first acts to be announced for a festival that promises to be out of this world.

The bands will be playing in the shadow of the iconic Lovell Telescope for Bluedot from July 7 to 9.

Bluedot launched last year at Jodrell Bank aiming to bridge the gap between music and culture and science and astronomy.

After a five-year hiatus Orbital, the originators of live dance music, are back and headlining Bluedot in their only northern show of the summer.

Veteran alt-rockers Pixies have had an incredible career spanning more than three decades, inspiring countless bands from Nirvana to Radiohead in the process.

Indie/art rock outfit Alt-J are the final main stage headliner. Since winning huge acclaim and a Mercury Prize for hit album An Awesome Wave, Alt-J have cemented their place in the pantheon of intelligent rock.

Also on the bill are alternative rock/electronic band Soulwax, a UK festival exclusive from psych-swing revolutionaries Ezra Furman and The Boyfriends, LA dream-pop four piece Warpaint, experimental Squarepusher project Shobaleader One, Manchester synth-pop artist Shura, DJ and producer Andrew Weatherall, post-industrial duo Factory Floor and art-rockers Moonlandingz.

They will be joined by electro singer-songwriter Boxed In, ambient techno maestro Max Cooper, BBC sound effects unit Radiophonic Workshop, psych artists Whyte Horses Experience and Jane Weaver and cosmic Welshman Meilyr Jones.

Completing the first wave of artists are Anna Meredith, Rival Consoles, The Comet is Coming, a DJ set from Marc Riley, Space Cassette Takeover starring Henge, Age of Glass and Anchorsong, Flamingods, The Early Years, Plastic Mermaids, Goat Girl, Makeness, Ider, TVAM, Wovoka Gentle, Ethan and The Reformation, Girl Sweat Pleasure Temple Ritual Band, Horsebeach, Team Picture and Algorave.

Ben Robinson, festival director, said: “We are incredibly proud to be able to present such an innovative and legendary collection of artists to perform at this years Bluedot festival.

“Orbital’s return to the festival stage at Bluedot will be an incredibly fitting spectacle and one not to be missed, along with Pixies, Alt-J and Soulwax the headline acts are all hugely talented musicians, who have helped to shape and form music culture over the years.

“The reaction to the first event has been incredible and we are only just beginning to realise the potential of curating a festival in such a unique location. We have a full programme of science, arts and culture still to come, it’s going to be an exciting summer ahead.”

The full arts, culture and science line-up will be announced in the coming months but highlights include best selling author Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Tubular Brass, a newly formed brass band performing a full brass band score of Mike Oldfield’s multimillion-selling classic Tubular Bells.

There is also a once in a lifetime opportunity for any Star Wars Fan. Bluedot will be presenting The Men Behind The Mask. Expect an intriguing insight into the creation of one of the world’s most infamous villains, Darth Vader as sculptor Brian Muir, concept artist Ralph McQuarrie and the man inside the mask himself, David Prowse present their story and experience of Vader’s helmet.

There will be a full weekend of talks from best-selling authors and award-winning academics, covering everything from how to eat in the future to how the brain make us laugh and the science of magic and mindfulness.

Highlights include an afternoon of talks on the rise of ‘fake news’, with leading journalists and politicians discussing whether the increasing trend in our ‘post-truth’, post-Trump world threatens democracy. There will be discussions on ‘The Dark Web’ where anyone can operate under a cloak of anonymity, and why we should care what happens there, hosted by Geoff White, head of tech for Channel 4.

Sessions on climate change and extraterrestrial intelligence from world leading scientists are also on the bill alongside hands-on science experiments and interactive shows.

n Full weekend camping tickets are now on sale and start from £149 outright or there is the opportunity to pay in £27.33 instalments as part of a payment plan. Visit discoverthebluedot.com