Final preparations are underway ahead of the first rocket launch from UK soil.
Several satellites are due to be blasted into space on Monday night from Cornwall Airport near Newquay. If all goes to plan the launch will take place at Spaceport Cornwall as part of the Start Me Up mission.
The initial window for the historic mission will open at 10.16pm on Monday, with additional back up dates continuing into mid and late January. Named in tribute to The Rolling Stones' 1981 hit, the mission involves a repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft and Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket.
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The 747, dubbed Cosmic Girl, will take off horizontally from the new facility while carrying the rocket. Around an hour into the flight the rocket will be released at 35,000ft over the Atlantic Ocean to the south of Ireland.
The plane will then return to the spaceport while the rocket will ignite its engine and take multiple small satellites, with a variety of civil and defence applications, into orbit. They will be the first satellites launched into space from Europe.
In the past, satellites produced in the UK have needed to be sent to foreign spaceports to make their journey into space.
How to watch the UK space launch:
You can watch the launch from any device on Virgin Orbit's YouTube channel. The live stream will begin at 9pm and feature interviews before take-off.
What time is the UK space launch?
The space launch will take place at around 10.16pm.
Where can I see Virgin Orbit?
The 747 will depart from Newquay and travel west across the Atlantic Ocean to a predetermined launch area just off the coast of the Irish counties of Kerry and Cork.
The rocket will blast off into orbit while the plane will return to the spaceport.
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