New heights

Melissa Thorpe, the chief executive of Spaceport Cornwall, is leading the launch of Virgin Orbit’s Launcherone rocket and Cosmic Girl, a specially adapted Boeing 747, above, that will carry it from the facility in Newquay. The mission, nicknamed Start Me Up in tribute to the Rolling Stones, will be the first orbital launch from the UK. The rocket is now nestled under the aircraft’s wing ready for takeoff later this month.