UK space launch – live updates: Jumbo jet carrying first orbital UK rocket takes off from Cornwall
Cosmic Girl, a former Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747, took off from Spaceport Cornwall with the LauncherOne rocket under its wing. It is carrying a number of satellites, including ones made in Britain, into space. Watch live in the stream here.
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Key points:
LauncherOne rocket suffers ‘anomaly’ while en route to orbit View post
Flown skyward by Cosmic Girl after take-off from Newquay View post
Aircraft carried rocket in ‘horizontal launch’ View post
Watch live in stream above – or could you spot it yourself? View post
Nine satellites were carried for deployment in space View post
Thomas Moore on Britain’s big – and growing – role in the space race View post
Read more: Everything you need to know about historic launch
Read more: How to see the rocket launch from where you are
Live reporting by Tom Acres, technology reporter, in Newquay
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1m ago
19:20
In pictures: Some 2,000 lucky ticket-holders assembled at Spaceport Cornwall
Some fantastic pictures here, highlighting the awe and excitement tonight’s launch inspired among those in attendance.
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6m ago
19:16
Setback hasn’t spoiled ‘great evening’
The 2,000 or so people who secured tickets for tonight’s launch are starting to file out of the spaceport.
They’re heading home in good spirits despite LauncherOne’s setback.
“It was a little disappointing, but it’s been a great evening,” one woman, who works at the airport, told Sky’s Dan Whitehead.
“It’s a first for Cornwall, and we actually work at the airport, so it’s been fantastic for us to see our little airport being shown to the world.
“It’s been a big deal for Cornwall and a big deal for the airport, so to put us on the world map has been absolutely brilliant
“Fingers crossed for take two!”
There were plenty of youngsters in the crowd tonight, and those who work in the UK’s space industry will be hoping nights like this inspire them to pursue a career in the field.
One boy told us: “It’s been really exciting, I’ve enjoyed it all.”
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27m ago
18:55
Cosmic Girl lands back in Newquay
In more positive news, Cosmic Girl has successfully landed back here at Spaceport Cornwall.
It set off from Newquay shortly after 10pm, and reached the drop point for LauncherOne – the rocket it was carrying – at just before 11.15pm.
The plane touched down back on the southwest coast of England less than two hours after its departure.
Despite news of LauncherOne running into problems, the aircraft was greeted by raucous applause by the hundreds of members of the public watching at the spaceport.
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34m ago
18:47
LauncherOne suffers ‘anomaly’
Newquay, we have a problem.
LauncherOne, the rocket being blasted into space tonight, has suffered an “anomaly”.
Virgin Orbit, the operator of tonight’s launch, said: “We appear to have an anomaly that has prevented us from reaching orbit.
“We are evaluating the information.”
The rocket had been bound for Earth’s lower orbit on its mission to deploy nine satellites.
It had been carried skyward from Spaceport Cornwall by a converted jumbo jet called Cosmic Girl, and dropped from the aircraft at around 35,000ft over the Atlantic, not far off the southern coast of Ireland.
It was expected to take around 45 minutes to get into orbit, by which point it would have been on the other side of the world – above Australia.
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47m ago
18:34
What kind of satellites is LauncherOne carrying?
Unlike the large satellites taken into space by vertical rocket launches, like those carried out by NASA and SpaceX, Virgin Orbit – the operator of tonight’s Start Me Up mission – deals with far smaller hardware.
Only about the size of a cereal box, the satellites will perform a range of tasks once in space, such as maritime research and detecting illegal fishing and piracy, as well as national security.
They are also used for climate change observation.
Slowly but surely, Earth’s lower orbit is becoming much more crowded, as companies from Amazon to UK-based satellite company Iridium all holding a presence.
So too does Elon Musk’s satellite broadband company Starlink.
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1h ago
18:14
LauncherOne has dropped!
LauncherOne has dropped from Cosmic Girl over the Atlantic, and will now blast into space.
The rocket is bound for Earth’s lower orbit on its mission to deploy nine satellites.
It will take around 45 minutes to get there, by which point it will be on the other side of the world – above Australia.
Cosmic Girl, the jet which carried LauncherOne skyward, is on its way back to Newquay.
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1h ago
18:09
Where has Cosmic Girl got to?
Some 142,000 people have helped make Cosmic Girl the most tracked aircraft on Flightradar24 right now.
The site shows the jet as being south of Ireland, not far off being in position for LauncherOne to blast into space.
Launch is expected imminently.
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1h ago
17:38
Watch the moment Cosmic Girl took off
If you missed it, watch the video below to see the moment Cosmic Girl took off from Spaceport Cornwall.
It happened at just gone 10pm – some 15 minutes before the launch window was originally scheduled to open.
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1h ago
17:35
In pictures: Crowds gather to witness history
There are around 2,000 members of the public at Spaceport Cornwall tonight, having managed to secure highly in-demand tickets for the historic launch event.
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2h ago
17:21
What happens now?
The excitement at ground level may be over, but there’s still more to come from the Start Me Up mission tonight.
The converted Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 which took off from Spaceport Cornwall at just gone 10pm is carrying LauncherOne, a 21 metre-long rocket taking nine satellites into space.
It will detach from the aircraft over the Atlantic between an hour and 90 minutes after take-off, by which point it won’t be far off the southern coast of Ireland.
That’s when the magic is really going to happen, as from there, LauncherOne will blast into Earth’s lower orbit to deploy its satellites.
By the time the satellites are released, another 45 minutes or so later, the rocket’s path up in space will have taken it round to the other side of the world – above Australia.
So maybe pour yourself another tea or coffee, grab a bit of Christmas chocolate if you’ve got some left, because it’s not over yet.
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2h ago
17:03
We have lift-off!
Cosmic Girl has taken off from Spaceport Cornwall.
You can watch the moment it took to the skies, complete with appropriate applause and greeted by The Rolling Stones’ Start Me Up, after which this mission is named, in the video below.
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2h ago
16:58
Cosmic Girl is on the move!
Cosmic Girl has started moving into position for take-off.
The converted Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 will be performing a so-called horizontal launch, akin to a normal plane, racing down the runway at Spaceport Cornwall to head skyward.
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2h ago
16:55
While we wait, a reminder of the aim of tonight’s mission
Well, the first objective seems to have been to give it a cool name: Start Me Up.
The team gave all they got over the course of eight years to reach this stage, in the hope that it will make the UK a new launch pad for space missions in the years ahead.
Until now, the UK’s role in space has been focused on making satellites, and several of those loaded on to the rocket for tonight were built here.
Among them are a prototype orbiting factory for making high-value alloys and semiconductors, and one to join a constellation of satellites monitoring illegal fishing, smuggling, trafficking, piracy and terrorism.
It’s part of the government’s National Space Strategy, laying out how the UK will become the first European country to launch satellites into orbit.
More launches are due from launchpads in Scotland later this year.
For more on why the UK is expanding its role in the space race, watch the video below.
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2h ago
16:52
Not long now…
From our vantage point, it looks as though Cosmic Girl’s engines are beginning to spin into life.
The jet is yet to start moving down the runway, but we wait with bated breath and increasingly numb fingers.
It’s very cold, hopefully not long until things start to heat up…
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2h ago
16:41
Want to watch the launch?
The event is being livestreamed from Spaceport Cornwall here in the blog.
Organisers had set the launch window to open at 10.16pm, but it’s since been moved up and take-off is expected at around 10pm now.
If watching on a screen isn’t enough for you, it’s possible that you’ll be able to spot history unfold in the sky above.
See the 15.10 post, or read the article below.
Start Me Up: How to spot the first rocket launch from UK soil
Sky News
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2h ago
16:34
The view from the media gantry
Here’s where the world’s media will capture tonight’s historic launch from…
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3h ago
16:16
Let’s take a look around the spaceport…
…if you can hear me over the sound of excited visitors and some rockin’ backing music, let’s take a look around Spaceport Cornwall as the clock ticks down to launch!
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3h ago
15:53
Analysis: New space race powered by falling costs
The new race for space is being helped by plummeting launch costs.
The UK Space Agency tells me that in 1971 when Britain launched the Black Arrow rocket from Australia it cost £95,000 per kilogram to put a satellite in orbit.
That’s just over £1m in today’s money.
It’s little wonder that the programme was cancelled after just one launch.
Now SpaceX can do it for around £2,200 a kg on a Falcon 9 rocket.
Modern rockets are cheaper to build, more efficient – and in the case of SpaceX largely re-useable.
The cost of launching on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne is just under £33,000 per kg, according to Dan Hart, the company CEO.
But he says comparing Virgin Orbit with SpaceX is like comparing a taxi and a bus. Elon Musk’s company carries satellites in bulk, while Virgin can take a small number to a specific point at a specific time.
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3h ago
15:25
Expected take-off time moved forward
Space launches are often subject to delay – but tonight, it looks like things are moving forward.
Cosmic Girl, the aircraft carrying the LauncherOne rocket, will start moving down the runway at around 9.30pm, with the wheels going up about 15 minutes later.
The original launch window had the craft taking off at 10.16pm at the earliest, so this move things forward by half an hour.
LauncherOne is due to blast off from the plane between an hour and 90 minutes after take-off.
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4h ago
15:10
What makes tonight’s launch so significant?
Only California builds more satellites than the UK – a fact that might surprise you, given it likely isn’t among the first countries that come to mind when you think of the space race.
But tonight’s mission sees Spaceport Cornwall become the first launch base in western Europe, putting rocket boosters on the UK’s road to becoming a major player among the stars.
Sky’s Thomas Moore explains…
