The rocket and satellite industry know all about Florida’s long history of launches, as well as the importance of the French Guiana facility at Kourou or the Russian Cosmodrome at Baikonur. But there are dozens of other would-be launch sites now emerging, and the UK is determined to tap into at least some of these […]
Virgin Orbit has reported that its Cosmic Girl launch from Cornwall on January 9th “ultimately fell short of reaching its target orbit”. The company admitted that the effort was not a moment to remember. Investors shared the sentiment and sent Virgin Orbit Holdings share price on the Nasdaq exchange crashing down 22 per cent on […]
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 […]
Orbex, a Scottish rocket manufacturer and orbital launch services provider, is to build and operate the first vertical launch site for satellites on the UK mainland. It is funding £20 million for construction. Jacobs Solutions, NASA’s largest services contractor, will look after the physical construction. Orbex, based in Forres, Moray, has signed a lease with […]
UK-based Orbex Space has raised £40.4 million in C-round financing. The company says the new cash “led by a new investor, the Scottish National Investment Bank, will allow the company to scale up its resources as it counts down to the first vertical launch from UK soil, as well as unlocking additional funding to support […]
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 […]
The SaxaVord spaceport in Scotland is seeking to win ‘Freeport’ status helped by a “strategic partnership” with the North-East Scotland Green Freeport bid. The UK is in the process of establishing Freeports around the country and SaxaVord wants to be a ‘subzone’ of the North-East Scotland Green Freeport (NESGF) should it be successful in its […]
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 […]