31.07.2021

Story of a Satellite opens to the public on Monday and will give people the chance to learn all about Spaceport Cornwall and the satellites which could be launched from there next summer

The LauncherOne rocket which is the centrepiece of the Story of a Satellite exhibition being hosted by Spaceport Cornwall this summer (Image: Richard Whitehouse/LDRS)

Spaceport Cornwall has launched a new exhibition which will give people the chance to find out more about the project as well get up close and personal with a rocket.

Story of a Satellite has been created at Cornwall Airport Newquay just yards from where the first launch from Spaceport Cornwall is set to take place next summer.

Visitors will be able to learn more about the spaceport, the companies that will be using it, how data collected in space will be used and models of satellites which could be launched.

However the centrepiece of the exhibition is undoubtedly the replica model of Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket which will be used to launch satellites from Cornwall.

Taking pride of place in the hangar visitors young and old will be able to see the model which was also shown to world leaders including US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson when they visited Cornwall for the G7 Summit.

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The exhibition is set to be open from Monday (August 2) and will remain open the end of the summer holidays when it will then be used for school groups to visit. It is the first of three exhibitions which are planned around Spaceport Cornwall with the second set to be hosted at the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro.

This will be titled Step Into Space and will showcase Cornwall’s history and future links with space.

The final exhibition will be at the Eden Project and will focus on satellites and how they will play a role in scientific and environmental discovery.

 

Spaceport Cornwall has been provided with £150,000 funding to help with the education and STEM programme being supported by the Spaceport.

Melissa Thorpe, interim head of Spaceport Cornwall, said they were looking forward to welcoming people to the exhibition.

“We have two months of our exhibition, Story of a Satellite, that features this giant model of the LauncherOne rocket which is 70ft long.

“We had it here for G7 but it was during lockdown so we couldn’t have many people on site and we thought wouldn’t it be amazing if we could get the public up here to see it, so we are lucky enough to have it for the next couple of months.

 

“We want to show people how a satellite is designed, built and tracked and all that process and a lot of that activity happens right here in Cornwall, which is surprising for some people, and to be able to have the public come up and see it and see what happens here at Spaceport Cornwall.

“There has been quite a lot going on for about eight years now, but we haven’t been able to show it off. It is quite a big moment for our little team to have the public come and for us to talk about what we have been doing.”

St Austell and Newquay MP Steve Double was at the launch of the exhibition and said he hoped many people would go and learn about the spaceport.

He said: “It is brilliant that we have got this exhibition so that people from across Cornwall can come and see for themselves what is happening in preparation for Spaceport Cornwall to launch satellites next summer.

“It is really exciting, for me personally this is seven or eight years’ hard work campaigning about the opportunities that Spaceport Cornwall presents to bring great investment and create jobs here in Cornwall, so it is great to see this exhibition taking place so that people can come here and see for themselves and it is another important step forward that we are actually going to make this dream a reality next summer.”

To visit Story of a Satellite booking is required - tickets cost £5 for adults and are free for under 16s. To book go to www.spaceportcornwall.com/visit/

Quelle: CornwallLive