Photographer Page

Spaceport Cornwall

The modified Virgin Boeing 747-400 launch jet, nicknamed 'Cosmic Girl'.

Virgin Orbit's Launcher One rocket is unloaded from a C-17 transporter plane for assembly. The rocket was manufactured in California and has had five successful launches from Mojave Air and Space Port.

The nosecone of the Launcher One rocket is wheeled into SpacePort Cornwall's hangar at Newquay Airport, October 2022. The facility is set to be the first U.K. site to launch an orbital payload.

The Launcher One rocket in the payload bay of a C-17 transporter. Britain has launched a satellite before; just never from domestic soil. The Cornwall SpacePort is one of seven being constructed across the UK, with a mixture of horizontal and vertical launch facilities.

The Launcher One rocket, with its payload of satellites, will be attached to the underside of a Boeing 747-400 jet, which will ascend to 35,000ft over the Atlantic – from where the rocket will be released, ignited and will begin its journey to orbit. This form of horizontal launch requires no additional infrastructure than that of a typical airport – albeit one with a long runway.