If the rocket which was launched from Cornwall Newquay Airport in January had exploded before take-off spectators “would have been killed”, an expert report submitted to Parliament has suggested.

The report by space technology company Newton Launch Systems led to questions at a meeting of Cornwall Council this week.

Hundreds of people attended the Virgin Orbit launch at Spaceport Cornwall on January 9 which was ultimately a failure. 

A modified Boeing 747 took off from Newquay airport and flew to 35,000ft over the Atlantic Ocean where it dropped the LauncherOne rocket carrying nine small satellites. A dislodged fuel filter caused the first attempt to launch satellites into orbit from the UK to fail.

The rocket components and payload then fell back to Earth within the approved safety corridor in the Atlantic Ocean without achieving orbit.

The failure led to the announcement yesterday (May 24) that Richard Branson was ending Virgin Orbit operations. 

The firm plans to sell its aircraft assets, including the modified Boeing 747 ‘Cosmic Girl’, which took off from Newquay and will sell for $17m.

Melissa Quinn, head of Spaceport Cornwall, announced last week that she will leave the post at the end of this month, just a few weeks after a new centre for businesses involved in satellite launch and development opened at the space headquarters in Newquay.

The report into January’s Spaceport launch by Newton Launch Systems, which was recently submitted to a Parliamentary inquiry, was brought to the attention of Cornwall councillors at a meeting of the full council this week.

The space technology company, which has been involved in a number of studies relating to satellite launches from the UK, said it had concerns about the Cornish launch, claiming that if the rocket had exploded on the runway spectators would have been killed by flying fragments and burning fuel. It also suggested that “for safety reasons” the launch should have taken place 300km west of Ireland rather than at Newquay as there had been a “near-miss event” with the Canary Islands.

The company’s report states: “Based on work undertaken during the Horizontal Spaceport Development Fund study with Spaceport Snowdonia in 2019, we have concerns regarding the safety of the failed January 2023 Virgin Orbit launch. We have been prompted to write this note by recent criticism of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the suggestion that their safety processes were too onerous. We do not believe that this is the case and have additional concerns that should be addressed before it is re-attempted.

“Video evidence from the January 2023 Virgin Orbit launch shows significant numbers of people, including members of the public, in close proximity to the aircraft and its fully-fuelled rocket as it taxied to the runway – for example, photographs published showing spectators well within this radius crowded around the site’s perimeter fence.

“Although the risk of the rocket exploding while on the ground is quite low … had the rocket exploded, people would have been killed.”

Newton Launch Systems’ study added: “Given that the advantage of Virgin Orbit’s air launch system is that the operator is free to choose the launch point, it is surprising to us that the launch took place from where it did despite the elevated risk. Considering that the second stage of the vehicle was filmed passing close to the Canary Islands after failing to reach orbit, this appears to have been an avoidable ‘near miss’ event, where a small change in trajectory could easily have caused a direct impact.”

John Conway, Conservative councillor for Launceston South, said at this week’s council meeting: “Last Wednesday there was a Parliamentary Select Committee that was hearing evidence about the space launch in Newquay. Written evidence was submitted by Newton Launch Systems which suggested that if the rocket exploded on the ground people would have been killed.

“The report also says that when the rocket was launched from the jumbo jet over the sea it was launched from the wrong place and endangered the Canary Islands. If it had been 300km west of Ireland it would have been a safer place to do it. I further note that [Melissa] Quinn has now resigned from Spaceport Cornwall.”

He added: “The Ccbinet authorised approximately half a million funds to keep Spaceport Cornwall going for the next year or so, my questions are: does Cornwall Council condone endangering civilian lives, was the cabinet aware of Quinn’s resignation when they authorised the grant, was she paid any enhancements on leaving and was her departure a result of the evidence to the Parliamentary inquiry?”

Cornwall Council’s portfolio holder for economy Louis Gardner responded: “The safety case is decided by the CAA – they set the safety standards around airports and, in this case, the spaceport. We adhered to the rules. I’m not going to comment on an individual officer leaving – we don’t do it. It would be inappropriate for me to make a comment on that. Space policy or policies of any kind are set by the council without reference to individual officers on whether or not they may be leaving.”