D I A LO G U E
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boldly GO WORDS BY SUZIE INMAN
In 2022 the team at Spaceport Cornwall is aiming o nd r rock r launc d ro oil in o ou r ac .
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lasting off from Newquay, the rocket will be the first of many carrying satellites into orbit. The currently builds a large proportion of the world’s small satellites, but we currently cannot launch them on home soil. Spaceport Cornwall is about to change that, helping secure a major space market opportunity for the . Melissa Thorpe, Interim Head of Spaceport Cornwall, is an economist with a background in aerospace and aviation, and is about as far from what you might expect a space leader to look like as it gets. She’s young and she’s a woman. She’s like a breath of fresh air, driven in her ambitions to not only launch next year, but to make Spaceport Cornwall a global leader in space sustainability and to inspire future generations. I had posed some questions to Mel, to find out what all this means for Cornwall now and in the future.
What exactly is Spaceport? Spaceport Cornwall is a consortium between Space Agency, Cornwall Council, Virgin Orbit and Goonhilly Earth Station, whose aim is to establish a satellite launch facility at Cornwall Airport Newquay. It will create a new, innovative and high-skilled industry, attracting space businesses and investment to the region, in addition to bringing more than jobs. Because Virgin Orbit use a modified Boeing to launch a rocket from under its wing, it can be integrated into normal aviation activities at Cornwall Airport Newquay. So, you’ll have f lights to London take off, then a rocket The launch will use a modified Boeing with a ft rocket under the wing to deliver satellites to space. All it needs is a runway.
L E F T & A B OV E Melissa Thorpe
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