Melissa Quinn Clears the Tower at Spaceport Cornwall

Melissa Quinn, CEO of Spaceport Cornwall, is leaving after nine years at Spaceport Cornwall. Her departure marks a rise through the ranks at Cornwall, including over two years at the helm. During her term, the spaceport set milestones such as being the first spaceport to obtain a launch license as well as the first to successfully support the takeoff of an orbital launch system from British shores. STEM initiatives also featured strongly under her guidance. The spaceport’s team says they are ‘saddened’ to announce her leaving:

A Great Force for Aerospace in Cornwall

Melissa landed in Cornwall from her native Canada to be an aerospace specialist for inward investment at Cornwall Development Company in 2010. With the decision to maintain a focus on what would become the New Space industry into the Southwest, she ran sector engagement at Aerohub Cornwall. This role shifted with the development of the launch industry in the area, and included business and investment engagement at the spaceport until 2021 when she became the interim head, then head of Spaceport Cornwall.

As head of the spaceport, she worked closely with the Virgin Orbit team to ensure that the spaceport provided the necessary infrastructure for the launch. Even before LauncherOne failed in its second-stage burn, she had worked with finding other clients, including the American company Sierra Nevada.

What’s next for Melissa Quinn and for Spaceport Cornwall?

Along with the Spaceport Cornwall team, we at Orbital Today are sure that wherever she goes next, she’ll certainly “rock-it”. Obviously, the sky’s not the limit for someone who has already seen a launch from the spaceport she was running.
Spaceport Cornwall, in the meantime, has much to offer for potential clients, including a brand-new Space Systems Operations Facility, as well as proven launch infrastructure. As with Melissa herself, we see a bright future for the spaceport as well.