UK’s first rocket launch almost ready for blast-off as crucial license granted

Virgin Orbit’s “Cosmic Girl”, a modified Boeing 747, will take off from Spaceport Cornwall’s site at Newquay Airport Cornwall, carrying the Launcher One under its wing before dispatching the rocket thousands of miles above the ground. The Launcher One will then carry nine small satellites up into orbit.

The horizontal launch (different to NASA launches which see rockets blast straight up into space) marks the first-ever space launch to take place on soil, and it is expected to happen after Christmas, although a specific date is yet to be set. 

It comes after delays in December due to technical issues. Cosmic Girl has been kept at Spaceport Cornwall since October, with Launcher One arriving a week later. 

The licenses from the CAA were one of the last pieces of the puzzle as Virgin Orbit and Spaceport Cornwall eagerly await a green light after months of delay. Spaceport Cornwall was even hoping for a launch to happen over the summer to honour Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. 

Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1712483/uk-rocket-launch-virgin-orbit-caa-spaceport-cornwall