UK to build 1st rocket launch sites; Virgin to debut flights
The UK is developing its first vertical and horizontal launchpads to send satellites into orbit. Billionaire Richard Branson-backed Virgin Orbit announced that its modified Boeing 747 aircraft, which can launch rockets mid-air, will make Cornwall Airport the first UK spaceport by 2021. Further, a traditional vertical launch spaceport will be built in Sutherland, Scotland in early 2020s.