3...2...1...lift off! Britain's first rocket launches soon

3...2...1...lift off!

Britain's first ever orbital space launch is set to take place in Cornwall on Monday.

The mission - called Start Me Up - was meant to take place before Christmas but it was delayed while more testing was carried out.

Although rockets have been sent to space from the UK before they've never put satellites into orbit, so this is a big moment for Britain's space industry.

This rocket will deliver satellites into orbit - the first time this has happened from British soil

This rocket launch won't look like the big spectacles we see from Nasa in America though.

The rocket - LauncherOne - will be carried under the wing of a repurposed plane - called Cosmic Girl - over the Atlantic before it detaches and blasts into orbit.

That means the initial launch will probably just look like a normal plane taking off, as if you were heading off on holiday.

Once Cosmic Girl is in the right spot over the water, the pilot will press a big red button, releasing the rocket from the plane.

The Cornwall rocket launch will begin its journey to space on this modified jumbo jet

It will start to fall for a few seconds before its engines burst to life and accelerate the rocket at over 8,000 miles per hour!

LauncherOne will then release eight satellites when it reaches an altitude of 555km.

Why are people so excited about this launch?

This rocket was meant to be Britain's first to launch from British soil back in 1971

This is the first orbital launch that has happened on British soil.

Back in 1971 the first British-built rocket took the first British-built satellite to orbit but the actual launch happened in Australia.

It led to a thriving space industry here building satellites but they're usually sent to other countries for launch.

And Cornwall isn't the only place in the UK racing to space.

Work is ongoing in Shetland to build the UK's first traditional spaceport, which means rockets here would take off in the traditional way (vertically) rather than being first carried by a plane like in Cornwall.