Spaceport Cornwall

A UK spaceport at Cornwall Airport Newquay, run by Cornwall Council, built for launching small satellites from aircraft.

About Spaceport Cornwall

Spaceport Cornwall is the UK's horizontal launch spaceport. In a horizontal launch, a rocket is carried up by an aircraft and released high in the air before it ignites. The spaceport uses Cornwall Airport Newquay on Cornwall's north coast, where the long runway, about 2,744 metres, was built for RAF maritime operations. The airport describes advantages including direct access to the sea, uncongested airspace and few homes nearby. It also has hardened aircraft shelters which can be used for rocket and propulsion testing. It works alongside Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station, which provides tracking and mission control.

The spaceport was officially launched on 30 September 2022 with the opening of its Space Systems Integration Facility, a place where satellites are prepared and fitted to rockets. In November 2022 the Civil Aviation Authority gave it an operating licence. The airport is publicly owned by Cornwall Council and run by Cornwall Airport Limited. We did not find a formal mission statement or named leaders in the pages we read, so we cannot give quotes about its purpose beyond the aim of putting UK-launched satellites into orbit from Cornish soil.

On 9 January 2023 a Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket was released from a converted Boeing 747 named Cosmic Girl over the Atlantic. This was the first orbital launch attempt from UK soil, carrying several small satellites. A fault in the upper stage meant it did not reach orbit, and Virgin Orbit stopped operating in March 2023. Wikipedia reports that, as of December 2023, the spaceport was working on UK return missions with Sierra Space and Space Engine Systems and was in talks with a horizontal launch provider. Dawn Aerospace's website also mentions an agreement with Spaceport Cornwall about a UK service. The spaceport hosts the Centre for Space Technologies, including the integration facility and research and office space.

We found no first-hand information about culture, headcount or what it is like to work there, and no named people. The pages show an organisation made up of an airport, a local authority and partners across the Cornish space cluster, rather than a single company. Cornwall is also a place where space is part of local pride, because Goonhilly has been a satellite station for decades, but that observation comes from general background, not the pages we read.

A site like this employs a wide range of people. There are airport and airfield operations staff, range safety and flight planning specialists, engineers who prepare satellites and rockets, project managers, and people who deal with licences and regulators. Subjects like engineering, physics, geography, aviation and business all lead in. If a launch contract is secured, more roles could open on the integration side.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Cornwall Airport Newquay as a base for aircraft-launched small rockets.', 'title': 'Horizontal launch site'}
• {'desc': 'A building for preparing satellites and fitting them to rockets.', 'title': 'Space Systems Integration Facility'}
• {'desc': 'Rocket and propulsion testing in hardened shelters, plus work on UK return missions.', 'title': 'Test and return missions'}

Key facts

• Based at Cornwall Airport Newquay, publicly owned by Cornwall Council; runway about 2,744 metres
• Officially launched 30 September 2022; Civil Aviation Authority operating licence November 2022
• Hosted the first orbital launch attempt from UK soil on 9 January 2023 (Virgin Orbit; did not reach orbit)
• Works with Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station for tracking and mission control

Website: spaceportcornwall.com