Either you know what happened when Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit attempted to pull off the first orbital satellite launch from the UK at the beginning of this year, or it passed you by – although if you are watching a documentary about it, you probably have at least a semblance of an idea that Cornwall has not yet become the new Cape Canaveral. A Very British Space Launch follows the four months before the team’s attempt to launch a rocket from Newquay in January.
For the most part, it has the same corporate documentary jauntiness that usually accompanies Channel 4’s brand-centred shows. It feels like an episode of the 90s documentary Airport, right down to its joker of a manager, an upbeat chap called Steve – although, as this is an aerodrome spaceport, there is a lot more money at stake. Perhaps the makers were hoping it would be called The Great British Space Launch; unfortunately, real life intervened.
There is no sense of being let into a debate about whether private companies expanding into commercial space travel is a good idea or not. We are told, simply, that these projects are pushing down the price of going to space, although few can expect to be able to afford a ticket any time soon.
This is insider access to a mission that hopes to put Britain back on the space map. Virgin Orbit is (or, spoiler alert, was) an Anglo-American company, but this documentary aims to make it a matter of solely British national pride. Even the project manager, a likable woman named Melissa Thorpe, is compelled to explain that she has in fact lived in the UK for 11 years, even though she is originally from Canada.
It is a gentle programme, with a nice self-deprecating quality running through it. When asked about the project, there is a muted response from locals, who don’t seem to know a lot about it. In what might be a muddled regional communications strategy, Branson plops a replica rocket in front of the Natural History and Science Museum in London, where people in the capital can go to have a look.
Displaying the replica goes rather better than the transfer of the real thing, which has to be flown more than 5,000 miles from Nevada to Newquay. The fragility of these expensive, labour-intensive, extremely complex creations is astonishing, given the bold ambitions for their use. The rocket is flown in a jumbo RAF aircraft with great delicacy. “This is the most excited I’ve ever been seeing an offload of an RAF transporter aircraft,” says Steve – and I’m with him.
The satellites the Launcher One rocket is attempting to put into orbit have been produced by Space Forge, a company in Cardiff. The CEO, Josh, does his best to explain the mind-bending scientific details about alloy production and why creating them in space rather than on Earth would be a huge step forward. I would be up for a whole series on space alloys, which sound truly fascinating. At its best, this documentary is a showcase for the enthusiasm of human beings and our appetite for discovery and innovation, though hubris is never far away.
The uncertainty of such endeavours is huge. At one point, a simple issue with differing US and UK power supply near fatally threatens the very expensive and fragile satellites. “We’ll solve it. We’re going to definitely solve it,” says a harried-looking technician, who doesn’t seem too sure.
Eventually, the delayed launch day arrives. The plan is for an adapted passenger plane called Cosmic Girl – has a name ever seemed more Branson-esque? – to drop Launcher One off the south coast of Ireland, where it will head into orbit and deliver the satellites. The launch is live-streamed around the world. Even though I know the ending, I feel the tension of the spectators and the people who have worked on the project, from the pilot to the technical crew. Eventually, we hear an ominous: “Uh oh.” For a project on this scale, following the action for four months doesn’t feel like enough. It has been years in the making; this slight film is a bit like turning to the last page of a book.
• A Very British Space Launch was on Channel 4 and is available on demand.
