Space Agency announced that it would provide £7.35M to establish Virgin Orbit operations at Spaceport Cornwall. On 30 September 2022, Spaceport Cornwall was officially launched, with the opening of their Space Systems Integration Facility (SSIF). The SSIF will house the LauncherOne rocket and a clean room for handling payloads and integrating them into the fairing of the rocket. The Spaceport will eventually be home to the Centre for Space Technologies consisting of the SSIF and a soon to be completed Space Systems Operation Facility, an adjacent R&D work and office space by early 2023. The Spaceport is intended to be a hub for innovation within the local area working with new businesses and to take a global lead in responsible launch, working with the University of Exeter to achieve the ambition of being the first spaceport globally to reach Net Zero. Future plans include having rockets manufactured on-site rather than transported in from the US. A mission control centre is also being built with plans for mission control to direct three missions a year. On 16 November 2022, it was announced that Spaceport Cornwall had been granted an operating licence by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) allowing it to send satellites into space. The first launch from the spaceport using the Virgin Orbit LauncherOne system took place on 9 January 2023 with a payload of several small satellites. However, after being released by its carrier aircraft, the LauncherOne rocket suffered an upper stage engine anomaly at approximately 180km (112 miles) altitude on its ascent into space, failing to achieve orbit and resulting in the loss of the payload. Virgin Orbit plans to try for another launch from Spaceport Cornwall later in 2023. Launches Based units Newquay airport is home to: Cornwall Air Ambulance since its introduction in 1987. the trust operates an AgustaWestland AW169. HM Coastguard have a small operations base and operate two Sikorsky S92 helicopters from Newquay Airport. References External links Aerohub Enterprise Zone Newquay Airports in Cornwall Companies owned by municipalities of England