Right now, on the outskirts of Newquay - one of the UK's most visited tourism hotspots - a new industry is emerging. In 2023, the UK will have officially entered the space race when Spaceport Cornwall hosts the UK's first ever space launch, making ambitions to become a viable commercial spaceport a reality after almost a decade of planning and some last minute delays.
Virgin Orbit's Cosmic Girl - a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet - is set to take off on Monday, January 9 carrying the Launcher One rocket below one wing on the Start Me Up mission.
At around 35,000 ft, as the plane flies approximately 300 miles over the Atlantic, the rocket will be released for onward flight into space, carrying seven satellites, ranging in size from a fridge to a shoe-box, into Earth orbit.
