UK’s 1st Foray Into the Space Race Ends in Failure

Head of Spaceport Cornwall, Melissa Thorpe, on the aircraft pan by Cosmic Girl, a 747 adapted to carry a rocket, at Spaceport Cornwall, England, before the failed mission on Jan. 9, 2023. Ben Birchall/PA

Billed as British history in the making, on Monday a specially adapted jumbo jet left the runway at the country’s first operational spaceport and launched a rocket into space.

However, the rocket failed during its second stage and, according to operator Virgin Orbit, suffered an “anomaly” that resulted in the satellites it was carrying failing to reach orbit, ending the mission.

Although Monday’s failed launch was a major setback for those involved, Melissa Thorpe, head of Spaceport Cornwall, said it had “inspired millions and will continue to inspire millions more.”

The British space industry is expanding at a relatively fast pace, its budget is increasing, and its ambition is gaining momentum.

A Niche Sector

The UK Space Agency said the sector is worth around £16.5 billion and rising.

While many people may think of space as sending people into orbit for research or tourism purposes, there is a lucrative business in sending small satellites into orbit, a sector the UK has its sights set on. These satellites can be used for a variety of reasons, from tracking the environment to monitoring piracy.

Matt Archer, commercial director for the UK Space Agency told The Epoch Times, “We’re starting to see there is a commercial market for small satellite launch, and actually that kind of change in technology and making it cheaper makes it more accessible.” He added that launches of small satellites have the “potential to be around £2 billion a year going forward.”

A repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft, named Cosmic Girl, carrying Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket, takes off from Spaceport Cornwall at Cornwall Airport, Newquay, on Jan. 9, 2023. Ben Birchall/PA

The agency said the UK has an established sector in manufacturing satellites. It believes that instead of sending them to countries like the United States to put them into orbit, the UK should become a hub to launch not just British-made satellites, but also from partners around the world.

Archer doesn’t believe Britain’s departure from the European Union caused a setback in its plans to become an internationally recognised giant in the space industry.

“It’s not made a big difference to the program. There are lots of challenges, not least of engaging with the number of partners that we have. So the UK Space Agency’s been at the centre of all of that, supported by a number of government departments, but equally, departments from Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Iceland ... but actually Brexit hasn’t particularly hindered that.”

Safety in Mind

Today there is one spaceport in the country with a further six potential sites, all of which are in more rural areas of the UK.

Spaceport Cornwall, currently the only licensed and operational facility, is located in a county with a population of just over half a million, one of the most deprived areas in Europe, and around 280 miles by car to London.

Five of the other potential sites are in the outer parts of Scotland.

“The principal thing that we have to bear in mind is safety and safety to life in particular,“ said Archer. ”So the benefit that you have here in Cornwall being really close to the coast—likewise in [Scotland’s] Shetland—you’re a really remote part of the UK with nothing largely around. And similarly for the north of Scotland at the site of Sutherland, again, you’ve got very small populations around it.

“What that does is it makes it safer so that if there was an incident, actually the risk to life is very low.”

Cornwall is traditionally a holiday resort, it has a fledgling fishing industry, and in the past its economy was based around tin mining. It was thrust onto the world stage in June 2021 when the G-7 summit was hosted in the county.

The Virgin Orbit Launcher One rocket is displayed at Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay, England, on Aug. 2, 2021. Hugh Hastings/Getty Images

Kim Conchie, the chief executive of the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, told The Epoch Times: “Now we see real high tech businesses coming to Cornwall. And this spaceport is a great collaboration and evidence of what can be achieved with the public and the private sector working together.”

The local business community backed the spaceport from the start, according to Conchie. “Now what you see is entrepreneurs, innovators, business people coming in. This is the start of something very exciting for Cornwall. I really feel that this is beginning to get Cornwall’s mojo back again in very visible ways,” he said.

Spaceport Cornwall created 150 jobs when the facility opened, as well as several indirect jobs, a much needed boost to an economy that is traditionally seen as seasonal.

Spaceport Cornwall’s first client was Virgin Orbit, but it said interest from other providers of satellite distribution is on the rise.

Time will tell if the UK can sustain six facilities competing with one another and if there is enough business for monthly launches from these sites.

There’s also the big question of continued funding. So far Cornwall Council and the UK Space Agency have backed the site financially, however at some stage both parties will want to see a return on their investment.