Thousands Of People Waiting To Witness Europe’s First Satellite Launch

Europe’s first satellite launch would be witnessed by thousands of people in Cornwall as it will be the start of a “new era” for the British space industry, reported The Guardian. The people of the UK have been waiting to see the very first orbital rocket launch from UK soil.

The announcement of the UK’s first mission partners of the official opening of the Start Me Up launch window for 9 January which would blast nine satellites into orbit, as per the press statement released on January 6. The historic Start Me Up mission will take off on Monday night from Spaceport Cornwall which would solely depend on no last-minute technical hitches and the good Cornish weather.

“We are entering a new era for space in the UK with the first ever satellite launch from UK soil and from Europe. This is a significant landmark for the nation, the UK Space Agency and for all those who have worked so hard over many years to make our ambitions to create a commercial space launch capability a reality", said Ian Annett, Deputy CEO at the UK Space Agency, in a Press release while sharing the news of the Launch.

Further, taking to Twitter, Virgin Orbit wrote, "T minus 1 day until the start of the UK’s first orbital launch window!" They also shared the live stream link (tomorrow at 1:15 pm PT/9:15 pm GMT) for its online spectators. 

Europe’s first satellite launch

Melissa Thorpe, the head of Spaceport Cornwall, also expressed her happiness about the launch. Taking to social media, she wrote, "Nine years of the most amazing rollercoaster ride ever. Tonight we give it our all. Thank you from the bottom of my Canadian/Cornish heart for all the support. Let’s Launch. #GoodSpace."

Apart from the head of Space Cornwall, the news has been shared by the UK Space Agency and UK Civil Aviation Authority on social media platforms. 

While sharing the news of the satellite launch, taking to Twitter, the UK Space Agency wrote, "The @UK_CAA have issued licences for all satellites on the first orbital launch from UK soil. Read more about how the launch from @SpaceCornwall with @VirginOrbit  will work https://gov.uk/government/case-studies/first-launch-from-the-uk… #LaunchUK #CountdownToCornwall #StartMeUp."

Moreover, the press statement released by Virgin Orbit, Ian Annett, Deputy CEO at the UK Space Agency, Dan Hart, Virgin Orbit CEO, Melissa Thorpe, Head of Spaceport Cornwall, and Tim Johnson, Director for Space Regulation at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, have shared their thoughts on Europe’s first satellite launch.