The first rocket launch from UK soil is nearly upon us – and you won’t have to be right on site to see it for yourself.
In fact, you won’t even have to be in the country.
When LauncherOne blasts off into space in the coming weeks, carried skyward from Spaceport Cornwall by the fabulously named Cosmic Girl, it will be visible across the UK, Ireland, and parts of France, Portugal, and Spain.
Maps released by Virgin Orbit, the launch operator, show when and where eagle-eyed space enthusiasts in each country can expect to see it in the sky.
The path of the 21m (69ft) rocket from the point it is released from Cosmic Girl (an old Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747) is shown in blue, with the circles on the line depicting its approximate location at each minute along the way.
Virgin Orbit says people in the UK and Ireland should be able to see LauncherOne within 60 seconds of ignition, while coastal regions in France, Portugal, and Spain will get a good view within two to three minutes.
The entire launch phase is estimated to last approximately 10 minutes.
The rocket will be visible to most of the UK within moments of ignition
The French, Spanish and Portuguese coasts will be able to see the rocket
How will the launch work?
The key thing to realise about this launch is that it’s not going to remind you of a classic NASA spectacle, with some huge spacecraft launching vertically into the atmosphere.
Given Cosmic Girl is an old Boeing 747, the view from Spaceport Cornwall will not look dissimilar to any other plane taking off when it takes to the sky under the cover of night.
Under its left wing is LauncherOne, which will be released at 35,000ft over the Atlantic Ocean before accelerating to…
