Virgin Orbit rocket arrives in Cornwall ahead of first UK launch next month

Virgin Orbit rocket arrives in Cornwall! The 70ft-long LauncherOne vehicle will be flown into space aboard a modified aircraft next month - marking the first orbital mission EVER from UK soilVirgin Orbit's rocket arrived in Cornwall on Friday ahead of the UK launch United, which could take place as early as next month, will send satellites into orbit and lift off from Newquay on the Cosmic Girl space plane The mission has been named Start Me Up in honor of iconic British band, the Rolling Stones It will be the first-ever orbital space launch and the first satellite launch to take place on UK soil Update: 09:55 BST, 17 October 2022

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The rocket that will be blasted into space on the first-ever orbital launch from UK soil is finally here arriving in Cornwall.

LauncherOne, the 70-foot-long launch vehicle, is expected to be filled with satellites and slid into the belly of Virgin Orbit's spaceplane , "Cosmic Girl", next month.

Cosmic Girl will take off from Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay and carry the two-stage orbital launch vehicle to high altitude.

It will then jettison "horizontally" before engaging its thrusters to launch into space at up to 17,500 mph, where it will deposit the satellites.

The LauncherOne vehicle arrived late Friday evening from California aboard the C-17 Globemaster military aircraft.

The mission , which is on track for take-off in November, has been named Start Me Up in tribute to iconic British band, the Rolling Stones.