A satellite that is set to become the first launched into orbit from the UK has been prepared for lift-off. The satellite is one of many in the payload that will hopefully have its maiden voyage from Spaceport Cornwall in the next few weeks.
Experts have been working in Spaceport Cornwall’s Space Systems Integration Facility in a highly controlled environment to prevent any contamination of the intricate pieces of technology. They have been getting the satellite ready to be loaded into LauncherOne, the rocket system which will send it into orbit.
LauncherOne will then be attached to Cosmic Girl, Virgin Orbit’s aircraft used to undertake horizontal launches. It will be the first for lift off at Spaceport Cornwall during the launch window which opens at the end of this month.
The Space Systems Integration Facility is similar to an operating theatre as people dressed in personal protective equipment (PPE) delicately handle the components to put in the shoebox-sized satellite known as Amber-1. The parts had travelled down from Scotland after its experts worked with colleagues at Spaceport Cornwall to prepare the satellite.
The technology will be used to gather marine intelligence and help with issues such as piracy, illegal fishing and trafficking.
Tim Pinchin, from Satellite Applications Catapult, worked as part of the team to bring the satellite to Spaceport Cornwall. He said: "The satellite Amber-1 is the first of 20 satellites that Horizon Technologies are going to be launching and it is here to demonstrate the capability.
"It looks at ships on the sea and it will monitor their activity, even if they have turned off the monitoring system that every ship has built into it. So it can do things like looking at any sort of activity that might be out of the ordinary or unusual or even, potentially, illegal and then monitor that and then give that information to the Governments or organisations to let them know what is going on and it can help in the fight against piracy, terrorism or illegal fishing."
Tim explained the benefits of Spaceport Cornwall being operational. Previously companies which built satellites would have to send them abroad to get them into space, but now they can in the UK it will save money and reduce the impact on the environment.
"Having it in the UK is a remarkable thing," said Mr Pinchin. "It completes the circle for us and it is the next big step in the UK’s space industry. It means that satellites now, for the first time, can be designed, built, launched and operated all from within the UK. It is a game changer for the industry.
“The industry is so excited about having this capability in the UK, it changes everything, you don’t have to transport that away anymore, you can launch it from here and come down and be a part of that launch. We have a team down here from Scotland here today helping to integrate that satellite - it brings it all into one place and it is such a great thing for Cornwall.
"We have had Goonhilly here and that has been a centre for communications in the UK, but to have this here now as well that growth of satellite systems in Cornwall and for the rest of the UK is just going to be meteoric.”
Melissa Thorpe, head of Spaceport Cornwall, said it was an “exciting day for Cornwall and the UK”. She added: “It is the first time we have had launch here in the UK. We build a huge majority of the world’s satellites here and every single one of them at the moment goes overseas for launch so we are not only losing that market opportunity and that money but we are also impacting things like climate change because of all the shipping cost of transporting these satellites around the globe and that is something we want to do here.
"We want to launch them responsibly, sending satellites down the road rather than overseas, so it is a big moment, we are able to control how we launch into space for the first time ever, know who we’re launching with and we know exactly what every satellite is going to be doing. From an ethical point of view it’s really important for us here at Spaceport Cornwall.”
The launch window opens on October 29 with the first launch taking place in the days after that date.
