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Cornwall has taken pole position in the race for space after the announcement that up to £20 million could be available for the development of Spaceport Cornwall.

Funding from the Government, Cornwall Council, Virgin Orbit and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) could help ensure that Newquay is home to Europe's first horizontal launch spaceport.

The announcement of up to £7.85m being made available to the project from the UK Space Agency comes just weeks after Science Minister Chris Skidmore visited Newquay to see the Spaceport Cornwall site.

He said then that the proposals in Cornwall were "exciting" and said that it was something that he wanted to support.

However during that visit, Patrick McCall, senior managing director at Virgin and chairman of the board of Virgin Orbit, warned that the opportunity could be lost to competitors elsewhere in Europe if there was not more of a funding commitment from the Government.

Yesterday's (Tuesday, JUne 4) funding announcement was welcomed by St Austell and Newquay MP Steve Double who initiated the visit by Mr Skidmore last month.

He said: "This is great news for Cornwall. The Spaceport has the potential to transform our economy, creating new well-paid career opportunities and inspiring young people for generations to come. Through education outreach the Spaceport can work with Cornish schools and new space visitor experiences will support our tourist industry.

“In particular, I am keen to see the local stakeholders, working in partnership with universities, to build on Cornwall’s historical strengths for science and innovation; to become a global centre for space communication, spaceflight and space mining.”

(Image: Richard Whitehouse)

What will Spaceport Cornwall be and will we see rockets shooting up into space?

In a word - no. Spaceport Cornwall will be a horizontal launch site, with the plans initially for it to be used for the launch of small satellites into space.

Modified planes are used to carry satellite launchers high into the sky before they are released into space.

There is a vertical launch spaceport planned for Sutherland in Scotland. Spaceport Cornwall would not be suitable for vertical launch and was only ever envisaged to be a horizontal launch site for satellites.

The small satellite industry is fast growing globally with satellites being used for a vast array of applications from helping agriculture to environmental projects.

What about space tourism - will I be able to go into space?

While it is not on the agenda at the moment, those behind Spaceport Cornwall say they have not ruled out the possibility for space tourism in the future.

This would be to take passengers high up into the sky and into orbit. However this is very much for the future and not likely soon.

Why is Cornwall being chosen as the location for a spaceport?

Newquay Airport has one of the longest runways in the country and is able to accommodate the aircraft used in horizontal space launches now.

There is also the added bonus of having Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall - the base is a key partner in Spaceport Cornwall - which is developing the capability for deep space communication.

By having these facilities in place already is one of the reasons Spaceport Cornwall is seen as a frontrunner in the race for space.

What about Virgin Orbit - what is their role?

Virgin Orbit - part of Richard Branson's global group of companies - has been developing a craft for horizontal space launch and small satellite launch in the US.

The firm has signed an agreement that it will use Spaceport Cornwall for its launches in Europe.

Test flights of the craft - the LauncherOne system and Cosmic Girl - are ongoing and a full test flight is expected to take place in the US later this year.

(Image: Virgin Orbit)

It is hoped that the company will be launching from Spaceport Cornwall within the next two years and it is investing £2.5m into the Newquay project.

Dan Hart, CEO of Virgin Orbit, said: “We are very proud to play a role in bringing space launch back to Britain - with a revolutionary new level of flexibility and responsiveness. The Virgin Orbit team has now demonstrated every major assembly of our LauncherOne system and are within arm’s reach of bringing to the UK."

What benefits will this bring to Cornwall?

The global space market is expected to be worth £400 billion by 2030 and the UK is aiming to capture £40bn of that by then.

That would require building up the space industry in the UK with the development of the technology and systems that would be needed to support it.

There is a hope that by having Spaceport Cornwall it will attract businesses to set up close by and create hundreds of high-quality, well-paid jobs in the Duchy.

With Cornwall Airport Newquay also having an enterprise zone around it which is being developed and could provide workspace for companies there is a real opportunity that Cornwall could be a major centre for the space industry in the UK and for Europe.

There are also expected to be major opportunities to develop education and training opportunities linked with the space industry in science, technology and engineering and work is being done with universities in Devon and Cornwall to realise those opportunities.

Virgin Orbit is also keen to develop educational outreach programmes and has already been involved in some in the UK.

Where is the £20m for Spaceport Cornwall coming from?

(Image: Spaceport Cornwall)

The announcement yesterday indicated that up to £20m could be available for Spaceport Cornwall.

That would include £12m from Cornwall Council, £7.85m from the government and £500,000 from the LEP.

The £12m from Cornwall Council will have to be approved by full council and all funding is subject to a full business case being accepted and approved.

Speaking after yesterday's funding announcement Julian German, leader of Cornwall Council, said: “Cornwall is the birthplace of innovation and technology and space is at the heart of our 21st century economy. With assets like Spaceport Cornwall, world-class mission control facilities at Goonhilly Earth Station and superb digital connectivity, Cornwall will play a vital role in

the growth of the global space economy.”

Mark Duddridge, chairman of the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “This announcement is the culmination of five years’ hard work and will be transformative for Cornwall. It puts us and the UK at the heart of the international satellite launch market, offering affordable access to space, and will inspire a generation."

Business Secretary Greg Clark said: “Space is not only about pushing the boundaries of human knowledge, it is a rapidly growing sector of our economy which plays a key role in our modern industrial strategy, promotes global Britain and ensures our national security.

“These exciting plans from Spaceport Cornwall and Virgin Orbit to make horizontal launch a reality from Cornwall will help further our position as a leader in the new space age."