Connect people, businesses and ideas that benefit life on earth through flexible, low cost, resilient and safe access to space.
Company Name
Spaceport Cornwall
Location
Newquay, Cornwall
Launched
2016
Founded by
Cornwall Council
Business Focus
Space and launch services
What they do
Launch and Future Air technology operational environment, and year-round business location for space enabled companies and related enterprises.
Spaceport Cornwall is Europe’s future air and space solution on a mission to be an inspiration for the future. Connecting people, businesses and ideas that benefit life on earth through flexible, low cost, resilient and safe access to space.
Services from space enable every aspect of modern life, from earth observation, broadcasting, connectivity, global positioning and navigation, to combating issues such as climate change. Accessing these services on earth requires space-based assets in orbit, and safe and secure locations, like Spaceport Cornwall, to launch from.
The facility offers a year-round business location for space enabled companies and related enterprises, with a launch and future air technology operational environment that encourages research and development.
The home of space in Cornwall
On January 9, 2023, with the world watching, Spaceport Cornwall conducted the UK’s first sovereign launch campaign from Cornwall Airport Newquay. In June of that year, Spaceport Cornwall opened the Space Systems Operations Facility (SSOF), which is now home to 14 different businesses with ties to the space and aerospace sector.
In July 2024, with the aim of creating a unique future air and space offer in Cornwall, the Spaceport announced an MoU with Cornwall Airport Newquay and Wholeship, who operate the National Drone Hub, to combine and coordinate the capabilities of the three sites and their teams, to offer everything from testing through to operations.
Future plans and ambitions
In the coming years, Spaceport Cornwall aims to be recognised as the premier launch and future air services provider in Europe. Growing the onsite cluster to become a globally recognised entity that attracts the biggest names in the space sector, and delivering multiple campaigns across different capabilities, including air launch, orbital return, single-stage-to-orbit, and hypersonic flight.
How has Cornwall Space Cluster supported Space Professionals Partnership’s work?
Cornwall Space Cluster gives its members a bigger voice and allows organisations such as Spaceport Cornwall to be heard on a national and international scale.
Its impact is particularly evident at events, where it showcases the benefits of collaborating with businesses in Cornwall through combined exhibitions. Providing its members with a higher level of visibility than would be achieved by exhibiting independently.
The support that the Cluster provides is particularly important in a location such as Cornwall, where the majority of businesses are SMEs that don’t have the resources to concentrate on strategic objectives outside of the essential day to day running of the business.
“Cornwall Space Cluster is the glue that binds the space sector in Cornwall. It encourages collaboration and enables us to compete on a national and international level. CSC has undoubtedly won a lot of additional business for companies in Cornwall, and enabled collaboration that otherwise would certainly not have happened.”
Ross Hulbert, Head of Engagement, Spaceport Cornwall.
We’re here to support Cornwall’s growing space cluster, helping game-changing, space-focused companies get off the ground and thrive.
