Cornwall will be the home for Europe’s first horizontal launch Spaceport after funding was secured for the project from the UK Space Agency.

Cornwall Council will provide up to £12m funding for the scheme, subject to approval by full council, alongside up to £7.85m from the UK Space Agency.  A further contribution of £0.5m will come from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership.   

The funding will allow Spaceport Cornwall and US launch operator Virgin Orbit, who are also investing an additional £2.5m, to develop facilities and operational capabilities that would enable small satellite launch from Cornwall in the early 2020s.

Spaceport Cornwall could create 150 jobs and enable the UK to compete for a share of the global market for launching small satellites worth £3.9 billion to 2030.  

The funding is subject to business case and final approvals.

The UK Government is working with the United States to establish technical and legal safeguards for US space launch vehicle operations from UK launch sites. The US State Department has already approved an agreement allowing detailed technical discussions and strategic planning to commence. This would allow Virgin Orbit to operate its LauncherOne system and Cosmic Girl carrier aircraft from Cornwall Airport Newquay. A maiden US launch is expected later this year.