Spectators hoping to see UK's first rocket launch stuck in 'gridlocked' traffic
A space launch has left 'gridlocked' traffic in Cornwall as spectators flock to the site this evening.
There is reportedly heavy congestion in Newquay with police understood to have blocked the road as people arrive in their droves.
Virgin Orbit's Cosmic Girl will be launched from Spaceport Cornwall, at Cornwall Airport at 10.16pm attracting crowds of hundreds.
One witness said cars were "gridlocked" with "no movement" on both sides of the hill due to the historic event - the UK's first rocket launch.
The rocket place contains nine smaller satellites, which will be placed into orbit.
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People wait for the launch of Cosmic Girl (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)A keen spectator told CornwallLive: "Gridlocked - no movement with police cars now blocking the road. Just outside Watergate Bay Hotel junction.
"5 coaches and double deckers blocking the road and lots of cars backed up the hill on both sides."
Cornwall Council, posting to Twitter, said: "Due to heavy traffic around Watergate Bay, visitors are advised to use the Tregunnel Car Park site to access the Cornwall Spaceport park and ride this evening."
Quinn Lawrence is one of the lucky ones to watch the historic event (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)GoogleMaps is reporting similar delays in the area, with traffic building from Watergate Bay through Tregurrian Hill.
If you were not lucky enough to grab a ticket to the launch, the event will be streaming on Virgin Orbit's Youtube channel from 9pm this evening.
Final preparations are under way ahead of the first rocket launch from UK soil as part of the Start Me Up mission.
Additional back-up dates continue into mid and late January if the launch window is missed tonight.
A replica at rocket the launch of Cosmic Girl (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)Named in tribute to The Rolling Stones' 1981 hit, the mission involves a repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft and Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket.
The 747, dubbed Cosmic Girl, will take off horizontally from the new facility while carrying the rocket.
Around an hour into the flight the rocket will be released at 35,000ft over the Atlantic Ocean to the south of Ireland.
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The plane will then return to the spaceport while the rocket will ignite its engine and take multiple small satellites, with a variety of civil and defence applications, into orbit.
Susie Bundy and Zoe Elliot wait for the launch (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)They will be the first satellites launched into space from Europe.
In the past, satellites produced in the UK have needed to be sent to foreign spaceports to make their journey into space.
Speaking on Sunday, Ian Annett, deputy chief executive at the UK Space Agency, described his "immense excitement".
"Who would not be excited by the fact this is the first time that it has been done in Europe? That's because it's hard," he said.
People have taken up their permissions (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)"There is a point where the training takes over and you fall into that rhythm of the teams knowing what they need to do.
"They know when they need to make the decisions they need to make.
"I would say the real achievements here are not the successes that you can necessarily see but all of the challenges that collectively as a team people have overcome.
"The culmination of all of that is putting these exciting missions into space. It's the things at the pointy end of the rocket that really matter."
Mike White has donned a Union Jack coat (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)It was originally hoped the launch could take place before Christmas but owing to technical and regulatory issues it had to be pushed into 2023.
Dan Hart, chief executive of Virgin Orbit, said: "We knew this was not going to be a piece of cake when we took up on the opportunity.
"We worked very closely with the UK Space Agency, the Civil Aviation Authority and Spaceport Cornwall, as well as the international airspace community.
Adrian the alien from St Austell holds a sign saying 'Take Me Home' (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)"I think we have learned a lot doing that. I think, like any first, the first time you do it is difficult, the second time you already know and can anticipate.
"The short answer is we are excited to be here, and we're excited about the future and coming back as soon as later this year to launch again."
On Thursday, Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne system successfully completed an end-to-end launch rehearsal.
Close pals Zoe Elliott and her friend Susie Bundy, from Newquay, said they would not have missed the launch for the world.
Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket at Spaceport Cornwall, at Cornwall Airport (PA)Zoe said: “It's part of history, this is a once on a lifetime opportunity and it puts Cornwall firmly on the map.
“Hopefully it will bring in more year round tourism, especially if we eventually get to go up their ourselves.”
Susie said: “There was no way we couldn't be here is there, a bit of wind and rain was not going to keep us away we've got our thermals on and we are going to enjoy every minute of it.”
Space buff Quinn Lawrence, 16, said: "I have had an interest in space for years now and this was the perfect opportunity to see a launch."
The Virgin Orbit launch will be the first time the UK has put satellite’s into space from British soil (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)The schoolboy, from Liskeard, hopes to work in the space industry one day and wanted to be part of such a historic first.
He said: “What else is there to see on the planet? We've been everywhere, space is the final frontier. It's all our futures.
“It is human nature to want to explore and space is where we should be.”
Mike White, 51, attended with his daughter Rhyannon, 17.
He said: “The launch has brought a great sense of community with it and we just had to be here.
“I think this going to have a major impact on the local economy.
“But also on the attitude of people as well, there are some deprived areas of Cornwall and they have struggled over the years, but this should have a really positive impact on people's state of mind.
“People should be able to realise what we can achieve and that they can look up and realise the sky is the limit.”
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