Subject to last-minute weather limitations, January 9th should see Virgin Orbit’s converted 747 jet, ‘Cosmic Girl’, take off with its LauncherOne rocket fixed under its port wing. The aircraft will leave Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay with the 70ft rocket and its cargo. That cargo is a batch of nine smallish satellites which it will deploy […]
Virgin Orbit has received the final licences from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to commence launches from Spaceport Cornwall, in Newquay, UK. The CAA said that Sir Richard Branson’s company demonstrated it has “taken all reasonable steps to ensure safety risks arising from launch activities are as low as reasonably practicable”. Virgin Orbit could […]
The planned Virgin Orbit flight from Spaceport Cornwall on December 14th has been cancelled. Virgin is blaming the UK’s licensing for the flight which are not yet received. Virgin Orbit’s CEO Dan Hart, speaking to the BBC, said: “With licences still outstanding for the launch itself and for the satellites within the payload, additional technical […]
The Spaceport Cornwall facility has received its licence to operate from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It means a planned launch by Virgin Orbit’s Launcher One rocket plane can now go ahead. The CAA says the site in Newquay, Cornwall can now be used for sending satellites into space. The first mission is expected […]
On October 2nd, Virgin Orbit carried out a full ‘wet’ dress rehearsal at its HQ for its upcoming launch of satellites from Spaceport Cornwall. Virgin Orbit says it is ready and standing by for a launch but first needs a formal licence from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The ‘Straight Up’ test involved Virgin’s ‘Cosmic […]
Later this year, probably in October, a modified Virgin Orbit aircraft will take off from an updated Cornwall Airport, near Newquay and now named Spaceport Cornwall. The aircraft is expected to carry around 8 smallish satellites into space. The activity will be the first-ever satellite mission handled by a ‘horizontal launcher’ from the UK, according […]
Scotland’s SaxaVord Spaceport has announced a new partnership with Astra Space. Not to be outdone, Spaceport Cornwall at the other end of the UK has enjoyed the British government confirm that it will handle its first satellite launch this summer. Nasdaq-listed Astra, whose mission is to improve life on earth from space, successfully completed its […]
A report from research agency Bryce Tech says that employment in the UK space sector grew 7 per cent between 2019 and 2020 and shows no sign of plateauing. Actual employed numbers soared from 44,040 in 2019 to 46,995 in 2020. Bryce Tech says that there are now 1,293 companies and organisations in the UK […]
Bad Wolf has announced its first major new drama commission since joining Sony Pictures Television, The Winter King. Based on Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles, The Winter King is an epic but intimate 10 part returning series which will shoot in Wales and the West Country in 2022. Portraying a revisionist take on the well-loved Arthurian […]
Sir Richard Branson-backed space plane and small satellite launcher Virgin Orbit has reported a downbeat revenue picture for 2021 with just two launches last year (and only one to date in 2022). This translated into a net loss of $157.3 million (€141.5m) for 2021 on $ 7.4 million in revenue. Back in August last year […]