Time is "critical" for proposed spaceport to become reality in Cornwall

Spaceport Cornwall is looking to become the UK’s base for horizontal launches into space with an aim to have craft which can launch satellites into orbit and, eventually, take humans into space.

Last year Spaceport Cornwall got a big boost when it announced an agreement with Virgin Orbit for Richard Branson’s company to use the Newquay base as its UK launch site.

The agreement was made in partnership with Cornwall Council and Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

At the same time the Government announced that a vertical launch spaceport was being backed in Scotland and that Newquay was one of several sites in the UK which could host horizontal launches.

However Spaceport Cornwall is the only site which has secured a commercial partner in the form of Virgin Orbit which is currently in the testing stages of the aircraft which could soon operate from Newquay to launch satellites.

For Miles Carden, director of Spaceport Cornwall, speaking about the project is clearly a passion.

As he talks about the possible benefits of having Cornwall at the centre of the UK space industry you start to believe that the county’s destiny really could be in the stars.

Since the announcements last summer, Miles has been making links and contacts around the world with companies and people who might be interested in being a part of Spaceport Cornwall.

While the Virgin Orbit deal is clearly the lynchpin of the whole project, Miles explains that there are discussions with a number of other operators which could fly into orbit from Newquay.

But it is Virgin which is key – the company has three separate space divisions with Virgin Orbit, Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company – and while Spaceport Cornwall has an agreement with Virgin Orbit, which launches rockets and satellites, Mr Carden said it could in future work with Virgin Galactic, which is working on space tourism.

“Virgin is the most reliable operator on the planet for horizontal launches and, by having an agreement with them, it gives us a viable route to launch.”

Virgin Orbit has been using adapted Boeing 747 aircraft which can transport small satellites and launch them into orbit.

Miles said: “It is quite a simple aircraft to operate and this airport is capable of operating it.”

He explained that while there would have to be some adaptations to the airport there would not have to be any buildings or terminals built such as those in original artists’ impressions of a spaceport.

“In the future, maybe, we might need those facilities, but right now they are not required,” he explained.

“We will have to make some changes but those are things which will help the overall operation of the airport as well as the spaceport.”

But one of the most critical aspects right now is to get a licence for the spaceport to operate launches from Newquay.

In order to do so Spaceport Cornwall will have to comply with regulations which the Government will set out – the issue right now is that those regulations don’t exist and are yet to become part of legislation.

Miles said there was a risk that getting those regulations in place could be delayed due to Brexit and he said that time was “critical”.

He said: “We are hoping that the regulations will be set in place later this year and then we can get the licences that we need next year.

“We need a licence to operate before we can do anything from Spaceport Cornwall.”

In order to launch there will need to be two licences – one for the spaceport and one to operate space launches, which would have to applied for by Virgin.

Virgin Orbit has been running tests on its aircraft late last year in the US and early results have been positive. Further testing is needed and Miles said a full test flight was expected “in months”.

One of the benefits of having an agreement with Virgin is that all their work has been done in the US and fully regulated by agencies there.

He said: “They are letting us use their technology which will have been fully tested and regulated, that is a huge benefit for us and something that nobody else in the UK has.”

MIles said that at a recent space industry conference in the US Virgin Galactic boss George Whitesides had set out how the company wants to have a network of spaceports which it can operate from around the world.

“He said that he wants to see them in Australia, Italy and Cornwall. Not the UK, he mentioned specifically Cornwall. That shows how important this project is globally,” explained Miles.

He added that Virgin Galactic was looking at rapid transport around Earth as much as taking people into space and said this could slash transport times around the world.

Miles said that Virgin was looking to use Spaceport Cornwall as its European base for its space programmes. But he said it was key that everything was in place as soon as possible to ensure that Cornwall, and the UK, can take advantage of that opportunity.

He said: “Here in the UK we are well placed to operate horizontal launches but, as already mentioned, Italy is also keen and then the likes of Spain and Portugal could also easily operate launches as well.

“We are keen to make sure that we do secure this link with Virgin so that Cornwall can be its European base.”

As well as attracting space industry firms and operations to Cornwall another key aspect of the project is to lead education and training in the sector.

Miles said he recently went to Newquay Treviglas School and addressed a school assembly there.

He said: “Some of the young people were really interested in the opportunities that this could offer. They realised that they could have ambitions to be an astronaut and it could  happen just down the road from their doorstep.”

Virgin Orbit runs educational programmes in the US which promote science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) courses and training and Miles said there was a commitment from Virgin to run similar programmes in Cornwall.

He said it was not inconceivable that children at school in Newquay now could be working in careers in the space industry in future.

But for now the focus is working on securing a horizontal launch from Newquay with hopes that could happen if not in 2020 then by 2021.

Miles said: “We want to have a licence and be able to do one launch. That has been the project from the start and that is how it stands.”