Horizontal Launch

Horizontal launch of rockets into orbit is likely to start happening in the UK by 2021, with Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit aiming to send their LauncherOne rocket from the wing of a modified Boeing 747.

The Boeing will take off from Spaceport Cornwall where it will reach a height of around 20,000ft where it will then release the rocket.

There are plans for other horizontal launch sites in the UK, with Campbelltown in Scotland and Snowdonia in Wales both hosting sites that intend to provide launch facilities. Prestwick Airport in Scotland have also suggested the possibility of horizontal launches from there.