Johnny O'Shea
Reporter at Spaceport Cornwall

The crowd cheered as Cosmic Girl took off.

“I loved it. It’s not every day a rocket launches on your doorstep," said Miriam Bimszdok, from Truro, who was at Spaceport Cornwall for the launch.

She was with her friend Ingrid Baker, also from Truro.

“It was an opportunity to be a part of something that is once in a lifetime, so why not," she said.

They were heading home after the launch as they had work in the morning, but hundreds of people are still here waiting for Cosmic Girl to return.

Jonathan Morris
Reporting from Spaceport Cornwall

A father who watched Cosmic Girl take off alongside his children has described the event as "inspirational" for future generations.

"The launch was incredible," explained John Catchpole, from Wadebridge in Cornwall.

"So enjoyable seeing it at the moment of take off, and so inspiring for younger generations."

Image source, Getty Images

For many people, the idea of a modified passenger plane being able to launch satellites into space is likely to be surprising.

Cosmic Girl, a former Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 plane, has been fitted with a purpose-built rocket - called LauncherOne - to carry the nine satellites to their final altitude.

Now that the plane has taken off from Newquay it will fly west to a designated launch zone over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Irish counties of Kery and Cork - where it will release the rocket at an altitude of around 35,000 ft.

That's expected to happen in around 40 minutes from now - just after 23:00 GMT.

The rocket will ignite its first-stage engine to begin the climb to orbit, carrying the satellites to an altitude of 345 miles (555 km) for final release.

Image source, .

Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent at Spaceport Cornwall

It’s not every day you see a jumbo jet thunder down the runway with a rocket tucked under its left wing.

Cosmic Girl was gone in a flash. Its navigation lights flashing, it hurtled past my position.

It lifted skyward with the Rolling Stones hit Start Me Up thumping out from the loudspeakers.

It will be a couple of hours before we know whether this mission has been a success, but so far so good.

Georgina Rannard
Science reporter

Virgin Orbit believes that people in the UK and even other parts of Europe could see the rocket as it travels into orbit later this evening - that's due to happen shortly after 23:00 GMT.

The company suggests that LauncherOne could be seen within 60 seconds of ignition, and people on the coasts of France, Portugal and Spain could see it within two to three minutes.

It has published a map, external here showing how you might spot it.

But remember this won't be a vertical launch like one you might imagine from a classic Nasa mission - this rocket is on the wings of a plane.

Jonathan Morris
Reporting at Spaceport Cornwall

There were calls of "here she goes” as Cosmic Girl moved towards the runway.

Then cheers and applause sounded as she took off from Newquay and Start Me Up by the Rolling Stones was played to the gathered crowd.

Rebecca Morelle
Science editor

Lift off!!! It was amazing to hear it thundering down the runway and beginning its journey - the first step in a new era for uk space.

But this is just the start. In about an hour the rocket will be released - and begin its journey onwards and upwards.

It's only when the satellites are released that this mission will be deemed a success.

Now we wait!

And... we have take off!

"God speed Cosmic Girl" the narrator says.

The historic mission has begun.

Jonathan Morris
Reporting from Spaceport Cornwall

The crowd gathered here broke out in cheers as "we are go for take off" blared over the speakers in the viewing area.

Adding to the excitement, the sound of jet engines are getting louder.

Hannah Collins, who was dancing at the front of the crowd with her friend, said the atmosphere was "amazing".

"I feel our community has done so well," she said.

The repurposed 747 jumbo jet is now making its way around the airfield, to the exact location that it will be taking off from.

Stay with us for live coverage of that and tonight's mission.

Rebecca Morelle
Science editor at Spaceport Cornwall

Mathew Stannard - or Stanny for short - will be at the controls of Virgin Orbit’s jumbo jet.

He’s been seconded to the company from the RAF, where he’s a fighter pilot.“It’s incredible - there’s a huge amount of pride that I get to be involved in this. It's a big deal for the UK. It's a big deal for Cornwall.

”He showed us around the modified 747, which used to be a passenger plane. On the lower deck, almost everything has been ripped out to save as much weight as possible, because a fully fuelled rocket is heavy.

Upstairs in the cockpit, the controls are largely the same - apart from a small button that will make a big difference. “We'll press that button and the rocket will be dropped.

”This happens once the plane has reached 35,000ft (10km). About 15 minutes before the release, the mission enters a “terminal count procedure”.

“That's where things for us certainly get more interesting as we go through that sequence of pressurising the tank and chilling the lines,” Stanny said.

"And at the end of that terminal count, it's my job to make sure the aeroplane is at the right bit in the sky, in the right position, so when the rocket says 'I'm ready to go', away she goes."

"We're go for take off", the Virgin Orbit narrator has just said.

The journey is expected to begin in about 10 minutes time - at 22:01 GMT.

Image source, .

Jonathan Morris
Reporting from Spaceport Cornwall

The sense of expectation is building in Cornwall as the launch nears.

Simon Osborne, from Newquay, said: "It's a great vibe and it's making history and it's just a really good to be involved in it.”

Meanwhile a man who helped design Spaceport Cornwall's branding has said the milestone shows the county's "pioneering spirit".

Nathan Lance, who was in the viewing area with friends, said he felt proud to be Cornish.

"I thought it was going to be a couple of hundred people turning up but to have a couple of thousand, it's so exciting - especially when take into consideration Cornwall's pioneering spirit," he said.

"I think it's really good to be at the forefront of it, especially for me, coming from Cornwall.

"There's such pride in it from the county."

Image source, Virgin Orbit

As we wait for the plane to begin its journey, live footage is coming in from technicians, engineers and others working on the aircraft to ensure everything goes to plan.

At around 22:01 GMT, Cosmic Girl is expected take off from Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay.

The former Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 plane, it has been fitted with a purpose-built rocket - called LauncherOne - to help nine satellites get into orbit around the Earth.

Image source, .

Rebecca Morelle
Science editor at Spaceport Cornwall

There’s a lot riding on this mission. If this launch is a success, it will be a major milestone for UK space.

It has a strong reputation for satellite manufacture and has been at the forefront of this industry for years. But until now, British-built satellites have been sent abroad to get into space. This mission will change that - and it's hoped it will be just the beginning.

More launch sites are planned around the country, like SaxaVord’s spaceport in the Shetland Islands, which is planning for the UK’s first vertical rocket launch to deliver satellites into orbit.

And there are rocket manufacturers too - like Skyrora in Cumbernauld, just outside of Glasgow, and Orbex, which has its headquarters in Mora, in Scotland.

The ambition is that this will mark the UK out as a global player in space - the place to come to launch satellites.

It won’t be easy - but then, space never is.

Jonathan Morris
Reporting from Spaceport Cornwall

A woman from Cornwall has said that being at the first orbital space launch on UK soil feels like "a moment in history".

Tracey Byrne, from Tintagel, was among the many visitors taking a picture with the replica rocket on show at Cornwall Airport Newquay.

"It's a moment in history," she said.

"And certainly in my lifetime, there's never been anything like this here.

"To be able to come along to somewhere that's local, be here, watch it and be able to say to people - 'we were there with all the other people, felt the atmosphere, felt the excitement of it'."

Image source, Reuters

The first ever orbital space launch from British soil is getting ready to take off soon from Cornwall Airport Newquay.

The plane is expected to begin its journey at around 22:01 GMT.

You can follow live coverage of what's going on from Spaceport Cornwall at the top of this page.

Stay with us as we bring you full coverage.

While people in Cornwall wait for take off of the repurposed jumbo jet carrying the rocket which will be released over the Atlantic, the Met Office says it is receiving reports of a meteor in the sky over the UK this evening.

Most of the footage being received by the Met Office, and shared through its Twitter account, is from those based around Hertfordshire.

Johnny O'Shea
Reporting from Spaceport Cornwall

Crowds at Cornwall Airport Newquay have filled out the viewing area with less than hour to go until the take-off window.

There are about 10 rows of people watching a big screen from behind a fence line.

Man on the Moon by R.E.M, Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden and Jamiroquai's Cosmic Girl have been on the playlist so far.

Julie Ruddock, 71, from Newquay, said she "just had to be here".

"I wanted to be part of it - my daughters in Kent are so jealous," she said.

"I can't wait to smell the fuel, hear the noise - there's a buzz in the air."

Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent at Spaceport Cornwall

This day has been a long time coming. Satellite launches were a second thought for Sir Richard Branson when he started his Virgin Galactic company.

As well as taking fare-paying passengers on short hops above the atmosphere in spaceplanes, he concluded he could also use carrier aircraft to launch rockets to put satellites in orbit.

He first started talking about it in 2009, but it wasn’t until three years later that Sir Richard formally launched the concept at the Farnborough International Air Show in 2012.

And it would be a further eight years before the LauncherOne rocket finally flew to space. By then, the entrepreneur had hived off the satellite launcher concept into a separate business, called Virgin Orbit.

Sir Richard always wanted to bring the system to the UK. And here we are, at last. Why has it taken so long?

Well, this stuff technologically speaking is not easy. But also, just in the UK, a significant hurdle needed to be cleared.

This was the primary legislation and all the regulations that flowed from it.

Assuming tonight’s launch goes well, satellite launches from Newquay should now become a regular occurrence.