'A historic moment' - Spaceport Cornwall given go-ahead to host UK's first ever satellite launch

Spaceport Cornwall has been awarded an operating licence, giving it the go-ahead to host the UK's first space launch.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced this morning (Wednesday 16 November) that the site in Newquay can be used for sending satellites into space.

The first mission is expected to be conducted by entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit company in the coming weeks.

CAA chief executive Richard Moriarty described the awarding of the first spaceport licence in the UK as "an historic moment".

He went on: "We're proud to be playing our part in facilitating the UK's space ambitions through assessing the safety, security and other requirements of these activities.

"This is another major milestone to enable this country to become a leading launch nation."

A repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft named Cosmic Girl and Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket travelled from California in the US to Spaceport Cornwall last week.

Their mission has been given the title 'Start Me Up' in tribute to British band The Rolling Stones.

The 747 will take off while carrying the rocket before releasing it at 35,000ft over the Atlantic Ocean to the south of Ireland.

The plane will return to the spaceport, while the rocket will ignite its engine and take multiple small satellites into orbit with a variety of civil and defence applications.

They will be the first satellites launched into space from Europe.

Satellites produced in the UK have previously needed to be sent to foreign spaceports to get them into space.