UK space launch: latest
Mission leaders speak of devastation after rocket setback
Science & Tech News Sky News
A prototype space factory that can produce materials impossible to make on Earth will be on the first rocket to launch from UK soil later this year. Skyrora will send a rocket from Spaceport Cornwall, in Newquay, sometime between November 9 and 16, with a prototype factory being among its experiments. The factory, developed by Oxford Space Systems, will use microgravity to produce optical fibres that could make internet connections faster. The mission has been hit by recent setbacks after an engine test at Cornwall Airport Newquay failed last week. Speaking at the International Astronautical Congress in Paris, Volodymyr Levykin, chief executive of Skyrora, said: “I am devastated, gutted. We did a hot-fire test of the upper stage last week in Cornwall. And, unfortunately, this test failed. It caused quite a lot of damage to the engine.” He said: “It's a setback. But it's also a very good learning experience. “But we will stand up. We will pick ourselves up and we will go again.”
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