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Spaceport Cornwall set for new launch plans

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Spaceport Cornwall and launch partner Virgin Orbit will launch the Amber-1 satellite, a partnership between the Satellite Applications Catapult and Horizon Technologies, later this year.

Spaceport Cornwall
L-R: Sir Richard Branson, Melissa Thorpe, Head of Spaceport Cornwall, Michael Curtis Rouse, Head of Access to Space, The Satellite Applications Catapult and Dan Hart, CEO Virgin Orbit

This agreement to launch the latest satellite in the Catapult’s In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) programme, funded by Innovate UK and the UK Space Agency, is expected to mark the first ever orbital launch from a UK spaceport.

Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket will launch Amber-1 into space, aiming to demonstrate how launch from the UK can benefit Britain's growing space sector and enable organisations to rapidly deploy new technologies to orbit, with a complete end-to-end capability coordinated from UK soil.

Built by CubeSat manufacturer AAC Clyde Space in Scotland, Amber-1 is expected to be the first of more than 20 planned ‘Amber’ satellites to provide Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) data to users.

Using patented technology, the system will geolocate and demodulate radio frequency (RF) data from ships around the world. Horizon Technologies’ data will be used by governments to provide information on the tracking and prevention of illegal fishing, smuggling, trafficking, piracy, and terrorism.

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