Spaceport Cornwall fans disappointed as rocket launch ends in failure

Nina Bond from Looe and Louise Morey from Newquay were disappointed at the outcome

Some Spaceport Cornwall fans say they feel "gutted" Monday's historic rocket launch ended in failure.

About 2,500 people attended Cornwall Airport Newquay to watch Cosmic Girl, the carrier 747 jet, take off with LauncherOne at 22:01 GMT.

The rocket was released and ignited successfully but later Virgin Orbit announced it had suffered an "anomaly".

The satellites it was carrying could not be released and were lost.

A replica of the rocket was placed in the public viewing area

Tania Purdie, from St Austell, who attended the launch, said: "The crowd were really disappointed - you could hear the sigh.

"It was never a certainty that it was going to go into orbit but Spaceport did deliver the launch and they did their job".

She added: "From a visitor point-of-view they put everything we needed in place.... It was brilliant.

"The vibe was just electric, everyone was excited".

'Maybe next time'

The crowd watched Cosmic Girl return safely to the base just before midnight.

Matty Bradshaw, from Newquay, said: "I'm happy everyone is home safe but I'm gutted it didn't reach orbit. It's such a shame".

His father Jim said: "Cornwall didn't build the rocket and it's the rocket that failed - the rest of it went well...

"Maybe next time," he said.

Louise Morey, from Newquay, who was also at the airport, said: "It's just gutting that it didn't succeed... I think I just assumed it was going to succeed."

She said the whole experience had been "phenomenal".

Ashley, Jim and Matty Bradshaw waited for news of the launch

Steve Double, MP for St Austell and Newquay, said the failure of LauncherOne to reach orbit was "disappointing" but claimed it was still a "great achievement".

He said: "It was a privilege to see the historic first attempt to launch satellites from British soil reach space last night and has shown the world just what Cornwall can do.

"While it is disappointing that the satellites didn't quite reach their intended target because of a technical failure, it reminds us that space is not easy and, if it was, everyone would be doing it.

"We have achieved so much and I am confident we will go again in the coming weeks and be successful."

Space fan, Jordan Wright, from the United States, said it was "absolutely worth" travelling from South Carolina to Newquay to watch the launch.

He said "anomalies are a common thing" and it was "such an encouraging thing to see what's happening" and "so important that Britain pushes forward".