The fault that wrecked Britain’s first space mission, launched from Cornwall on Monday night, happened as the rocket carrying a payload of satellites hit 11,000mph.

Virgin Orbit, which operated the mission from Cornwall Spaceport, said the “anomaly” that put an end to the bid to deploy nine satellites into lower Earth orbit happened in the second phase of the rocket’s journey.

The rocket, Launcher One, had been horizontally launched by Cosmic Girl, the customised 747 aircraft which took off from Cornwall Airport Newquay.

In a statement on social media, Virgin Orbit said: “The rocket then ignited its engines, quickly going hypersonic and successfully reaching space.

“The flight then continued through successful stage separation and ignition of the second stage.

“However, at some point during the firing of the rocket’s second stage engine and with the rocket travelling at a speed of more than 11,0000 miles per hour, the system experienced an anomaly, ending the mission prematurely.”

But Virgin Orbit insisted “by reaching space and achieving numerous significant first-time achievement,” the mission was “an important step forward”, demonstrating that space launch is achievable from UK soil.

The firm’s chief executive Dan Hart said: “We will work tirelessly to understand the nature of the failure, make corrective actions, and return to orbit as soon as we have completed a full investigation and mission assurance process.”