UK’s 1st Foray Into the Space Race Ends in Failure

Head of Spaceport Cornwall, Melissa Thorpe, on the aircraft pan by Cosmic Girl, a 747 adapted to carry a rocket, at Spaceport Cornwall, England, before the failed mission on Jan. 9, 2023. Ben Birchall/PA

Billed as British history in the making, on Monday a specially adapted jumbo jet left the runway at the country’s first operational spaceport and launched a rocket into space.

However, the rocket failed during its second stage and, according to operator Virgin Orbit, suffered an “anomaly” that resulted in the satellites it was carrying failing to reach orbit, ending the mission.