During the night of Tuesday, an attempt was made to send the first rocket into orbit around the Earth from British soil. But the attempt failed due to technical problems.
It was the Virgin Orbit space project that attempted to launch the rocket that would launch a total of nine satellites.
The 21-metre-long rocket was sent off on a specially-built Boeing aircraft from a space base in Cornwall in south-east England. But as the rocket was about to enter orbit, the Virgin Orbit scientists wrote on Twitter that an “anomaly” had occurred that caused the rocket not to reach orbit.
Several people had gathered at the airport:
– Yes, it was a bit of a disappointment but it’s been a good night and it’s the first time this has happened in Cornwall, says a spectator.
The company is now taking a closer look at what may have caused the technical error.
See the images in the player above