Right now, on the outskirts of Newquay - one of the UK's most visited tourism hotspots - a new industry is emerging. In 2023, the UK will have officially entered the space race when Spaceport Cornwall hosts the UK's first ever space launch, making ambitions to become a viable commercial spaceport a reality after almost a decade of planning and some last minute delays.
Virgin Orbit's Cosmic Girl - a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet - is set to take off on Monday, January 9 carrying the Launcher One rocket below one wing on the Start Me Up mission.
At around 35,000 ft, as the plane flies approximately 300 miles over the Atlantic, the rocket will be released for onward flight into space, carrying seven satellites, ranging in size from a fridge to a shoe-box, into Earth orbit.
When Cosmic Girl touches down, that will be the first ever UK launch complete. It is happening in Cornwall - the same Cornwall that is famous for cream teas and pasties, where the TV version would have you believe that nothing's changed for 100 years, where thousands of visitors flock to doze off among the sand dunes, not ride into the edge of space.
But things are changing and have been for about eight years. Around the Spaceport, a cluster of likeminded businesses is growing, with the data and space sectors set to play a key part in growing the Cornwall economy over the next 10 years.
Melissa Thorpe, head of Spaceport Cornwall, said: "In the early days we were laughed at. Every step of the way there has been a challenge. It's not been easy but nor should it be."
Year after year, the forward thinkers who believed that Cornwall could lead the UK space race have been putting the building blocks in place, banging the drum for the next wave of pioneers.
And the market for small satellites - used for everything from environment monitoring and weather observations to data gathering - is growing rapidly.
One of the payloads on this trip, by Welsh firm Space Forge, will investigate the potential of drug, alloy and microelectronics manufacture in gravity-free space.
In 2012, about 50 small satellites were put into space. Last year, of the total 1,900 satellites that were put into orbit, 1,700 were small satellites.
In the build up to launch, the space port is buzzing with people preparing for blast off around mid November.
Ms Thorpe said: "In the early days we felt quite alone in our efforts but now we've got a huge team here on site working towards making this happen."
For Ms Thorpe, this launch is proof of capability for the spaceport. She said: "We were already confident in this site to become a spaceport but this is about proving that and building on that in the coming years by opening up the opportunity for new operators and businesses in the supply chain who want to locate in Cornwall and we are seeing that already happening."
There are more than 55 space companies already in Cornwall, including Goonhilly, Avanti, Flann and Exobotics. By launching sateliites from Cornwall, the aim is to grow the cluster, create jobs and decrease the cost of accessing space.
It is estimated that the spaceport itself will create 150 jobs at first launch and around 500 in the first 20 years.
Crucially, it will act as a magnet for related tech industries including data and GPS. It has been predicted that as many as 9,000 high tech space industry jobs could be created in Cornwall over the next decade.
Ms Thorpe explained that the UK manufactures the majority of the world’s small satellites but does not have launch capability.
Until now, these satellites have to be transported around the world to places like the United States and Russia to be launched, missing an opportunity to lower costs and launch them in the UK.
Spaceport Cornwall is one of seven spaceport sites being developed across the UK.
Vertical launch spaceports in Scotland are expected to come online in 2023.
In fact, Ms Thorpe is confident that there will be another horizontal launch in Cornwall before that happens.
She said that the plan for Spaceport Cornwall, as a multi-user site, is to provide the most ethical and environmentally sensitive launch option. This is becoming increasingly important as businesses have to become accountable to customers and shareholders about the environmental impact of their operations.
Ms Thorpe said that alongside Virgin Orbit, the Spaceport has signed an MOU agreement exploring the possibility of Sierra Space's winged space plane Dream Chaser landing on the runway as it flies back to Earth after entering space via a rocket launch.
She added: "We are a red carpet regulated service to space that operates ethically. When you launch with us, you can decide the timeframe, who you launch with and who accompanies you on that launch."
The plan is to launch no more than eight times a year to minimise environmental impact. And to support these operations, the Spaceport needs a pipeline of workers trained in STEM subjects.
That's why it has an outreach programme reaching every primary school in Cornwall about future careers in space exploration rather than traditional jobs in agriculture and tourism.
Ms Thorpe said that it is an industry building from the ground up, explaining: "this isn't about a big corporate coming in and trying to make some money," though of course, it has to be commercially viable and revenue generating.
The aim is to fill the supply chain with home grown talent, it has partnership with the University of Exeter, Cornwall College and Truro and Penwith College, which has established its own science and space training programme.
She said: "It is so important that we build the skill base here in Cornwall, we are lacking in STEM capability because those people have gone elsewhere to get jobs - we are working to change that."
The region’s burgeoning commercial Space industry has highlighted major gaps in the workforce, but also offers a massive opportunity if the region can produce enough skilled workers to fuel growth.
A new study by Cornwall’s Digital Skills Partnership (DSP) has gathered data on the capabilities and limitations of the current digital ecosystem – the first report of its kind in the region.
Cornwall Space Cluster believe that the Space and Data sector could bring £1bn economic value to the economy by 2030.
After the initial launch, the plan is to do it again and again. She said: "The kids believe it more than the adults, they are so open to it. It is about harnessing that enthusiasm that young people have for Space.
And it is about challenging stereotypes as much as widening expectations of what a future in Cornwall could look like.
She said: "It is so important for me to get up in front of the children, to show them that you don't have to look a certain way to be an engineer or an astronaut, these careers are open to you in Cornwall."
Read more:
- Virgin Orbit finally granted licence for delayed UK space launch from Cornwall
- UK to invest in 10 'space clusters' to support industry's growth
- First Welsh satellite to be launched from Spaceport Cornwall in summer 2022
- Meet Melissa Thorpe, the woman leading the South West space race at Spaceport Cornwall
