The success of Virgin Orbit’s satellite deployment at the weekend has been hailed as ‘a big step forward for Spaceport Cornwall’ by local Member of Parliament Steve Double.
On 17 January Virgin Orbit’s carrier aircraft, a customized 747-400 dubbed Cosmic Girl, successfully put the LauncherOne rocket into space during the company’s second launch demonstration, successfully deploying 10 payloads for NASA’s Launch Services Program.
Virgin Orbit is a partner of Spaceport Cornwall, at Cornwall Airport Newquay and this launch is a significant progression for similar horizontal launches of satellites from Cornwall in the future.
Commenting, Steve said:
“Virgin Orbit’s successful launch of satellites via this delivery method provides a blueprint for what we hope to see from Spaceport Cornwall, and is a big step forward for this major project.”
“With the announcement that Cornwall will be hosting the G7 later this year, and Spaceport Cornwall featuring in the Prime Minister’s statement on this, this news could not have come at a better time.”
“Spaceport Cornwall demonstrates the potential Cornwall has for this sort of cutting edge technology and industry that we need to show on a global stage, and I look forward to continuing to work with all concerned to ensure it realises its galactic potential!”