First UK Spaceport wins license, boosting Branson launch bid

The UK issued its first-ever spaceport license to a launch hub in southwest England, paving the way for a ground-breaking mission by billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc. later this month.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority granted the license to Spaceport Cornwall following official sign-off from Transport Secretary Mark Harper, approving the base’s safety and security together with the infrastructure and equipment needed for horizontal space launches, according to a statement Wednesday.

The CAA said it’s also in the “very advanced stages” of giving the go-ahead for the Virgin Orbit mission, as well as licensing the companies planning to deploy satellites on what will be the first orbital launch from the UK and western Europe. Virgin’s re-purposed Boeing Co. 747 will take off from Cornwall carrying a rocket under its wing which will then blast away at high altitude.

The CAA, which took over UK space regulation after the country’s split from the European Union, is also progressing applications from other would-be spaceports, including the proposed SaxaVord launch site in Scotland.

Britain is seeking to establish a network of hubs able to undertake a variety of missions, including more traditional vertical launches, amid rapid growth in the planned deployment of communications satellites. The UK space industry is already worth around £16.5 billion, supporting 47,000 jobs.

Spaceport Cornwall won approval on the same day that NASA launched its most powerful rocket in 50 years, sending an uncrewed capsule skyward on a 25-day mission to orbit the Moon and return safely to Earth.

The blastoff marked the inaugural flight of both the Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule, kicking off the multi-mission Artemis program to send astronauts back to the lunar surface as early as 2025.