Space launches are set to take place in the UK after Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit was granted licences to operate them.
The decision was described as a “milestone” by the space regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Virgin Orbit is planning a launch from Spaceport Cornwall at Cornwall Airport Newquay in the coming weeks.
A modified Boeing 747 will carry a rocket and release it in a designated location over the Atlantic Ocean.
The mission is named Start Me Up in tribute to rock band The Rolling Stones
Spaceport Cornwall is one of seven spaceports being developed across Britain.
The first vertical space launch is expected to take place next year from the planned SaxaVord Spaceport on Unst in Shetland.
A public consultation on the environmental effects of the spaceport was launched by the CAA last month.
The locations for four other proposed spaceports in Scotland are: the A’ Mhoine peninsula in Sutherland;…