The first ever satellite mission from British soil is expected to run out of Newquay next week.
Rockets have been sent to space from the UK before, but not to put satellites in orbit. Those earlier efforts were part of military exercises or for atmospheric research and the vehicles involved came straight back down.
This means cost and time savings for British firms but the hope is the final piece of the jigsaw will also make the UK a more attractive place for other nation's companies to invest."For us, it's about capitalising on the cannibalistic effect that launch has of attracting other businesses, either in a supply chain capacity, or because companies 'just want to be part of it'," said Melissa Thorpe, the head of Spaceport Cornwall.
The UK's Civil Aviation Authority, which regulates commercial spaceflight in the UK, said on Thursday that all nine spacecraft on the manifest had now been licensed. Virgin and Spaceport Cornwall received their launch licences before Christmas. At the appropriate moment, likely just after midnight, and at an altitude of 35,000ft, the 747 will release the rocket, which will then ignite its first-stage engine to begin the climb to orbit.
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