They are used to working in extreme temperatures at their home base in the Mojave Desert, but the American crew and technicians, who are in the UK for a historic space mission, face a very different challenge – the constant rain and wind in Cornwall.
Asked what the challenges were in organizing a space adventure from the far south-west of Britain, launch director Deena Sanchezim immediately noted Cornwall’s climate. “Honestly, I’m getting used to the weather. We have extreme heat in Southern California. Our systems are designed to absorb heat, humidity. It’s different here.”
Sanchez said staff are working hard to get used to the weather and additional equipment checks need to be made. Also, there are a lot of things on wheels that need to be strapped down. It was interesting but fun.”
In the next few weeks – if all goes to plan and the right weather window presents itself – a Boeing 747 dubbed Cosmic Girl, converted to carry a rocket designed to propel satellites into space, will take off from the state-of-the-art facility at Cornwall Spaceport near Newquay. The aircraft will climb to 35,000ft and launch the rocket that will launch nine satellites into orbit – completing the first ever satellite launch from UK territory.
At a VIP and press conference on Tuesday, visitors were allowed a peek into the clean room where the satellites are prepared and a hangar where they will be loaded onto the rocket. Outside, the Space Girl sat on an apron that was battered by the wind and rain, but at one point lit up by a rainbow.
Behind the scenes where the rocket is being prepared with satellites. Photo: Jonny Weeks/The Guardian
Time is not the only stumbling block. The mission – codenamed Operation Start Me Up after the Rolling Stones hit – is still waiting for the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to grant a license that will allow it to fly the rocket and satellites. We had hoped that the flight would take place in the summer, then in the fall, but now it seems likely that the mission will not last until December.
Asked if that was certain to happen, Ian Annett, deputy chief executive of the British Space Agency, said: “Of course.” He said the licensing process was “extremely complex” as it was something being done for the first time in the UK, but insisted: “We are on track to launch in 2022, which has always been our aim. “
Dan Hart, chief executive of Virgin Orbit, the company running the mission, said it was about providing a service to customers who want their satellites in orbit, but also about opening Cornwall’s “gateway to space”. Hart said the company was “eager” for the flight to resume as soon as possible. “We’re in a bit of a tough spot right now, but we’re making progress.”
Hart said Britain’s space sector had been a vibrant community for decades and a leader in the development of small satellites – the kind this mission will send into space. “This is the start of a huge push forward,” he added.
Lucy Edge, chief operating officer of the Satellite Applications Catapult, which works to develop the UK’s space ecosystem, said: “We’re really good at building small satellites, testing them and we’re quite good at managing them and working with data. But we haven’t had a chance to run them before. This closes the supply chain.
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Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertisements and content funded by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to secure our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Virgin Orbit Launch Engineer, Dale Alexander. Photo: Jonny Weeks/The Guardian
While they await licensing, the crew continues to conduct testing and training. Dale Alexander, 29, of Atlanta, Ga., the flight’s lead launch engineer, also raised the weather forecast. “The rain was a challenge. We are not used to working in the rain. Some of our equipment was not as waterproof as it should have been.”
She also cited a problem other US visitors may encounter in the UK. “In America we use a different voltage. It was a harder problem than we expected.”
Meanwhile, the crew members are sightseeing, surfing and sampling the delights of Newquay’s pubs, which are more plentiful than in the California desert. “There were different things to do. There’s nothing to do in Mojave, she said.
Alexander looks forward to the flight, even the moment when the rocket is launched and the plane tilts sharply. “At this point we’ve almost reached weightlessness. We have been throwing water bottles back and forth and they are floating. You are weightless for about 30 seconds. It’s fun.”
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