Spaceport Cornwall kicked off the year by officially moving into the Cornwall Airport Newquay (CAN) company. A technicality you might think, but actually a major cultural shift as airport Managing Director, Amy Smith, set us the challenge of thinking what more was possible outside of launch to attract new technologies to the site.
The operational environment – low population density, uncongested airspace, proximity to the ocean, and one of the UK’s longest runways – that enabled Spaceport Cornwall to become the UK’s first licenced spaceport, is not unique to launch but relevant to many other sectors and aviation activities.
In April Avanti Communications announced their relocation to Spaceport’s Space Systems Operations Facility, and the company now operates their fleet of three geostationary satellites from the facility 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year.
The UK Ministry of Defence shortlisted CAN onto the Hypersonic Technologies Capability Development Framework (HTCDF), a £1 billion government framework to develop sovereign hypersonic capability by 2030. The shortlisting recognises Cornwall Airport Newquay’s unique ability as a licensed spaceport, commercial passenger airport, aerodrome and military base, to support the nation’s next generation defences.
And who doesn’t want to visit a spaceport? This year we’ve hosted international delegations, Lords, Ministers, Members of Parliament, Cornwall Council Cabinet members, local councillors, thousands of members of the public to our events, and even a group from North Carolina who turned up one day saying visiting Spaceport Cornwall was on their bucket list!
The Education Team has continued their incredible work (take a bow Fritha Durham) redefining what’s possible for young people across Cornwall that an exciting future career in space is not a far-off dream but a reality.
We’ve collaborated with TECwomen CIC, Jon Egging Trust, Tech Cornwall, and many others, to champion participation and inclusion, and help build a space sector where regardless of circumstances every young person can see themselves in the stars.
And while we love Cornwall, we’ve also hit the road attending conferences and events across the country and further afield showcasing the unique capability Spaceport Cornwall and Cornwall Airport Newquay combined offers. Starting with Space Symposium, and then Space Comm Expo, Farnborough International Space Show, the UK Space Conference, Space Tech Expo, and DSEI. It’s been a busy year!
Spaceport Cornwall was shortlisted as one of two sites to host the European Space Agency – ESA INVICTUS hypersonic test programme. INVICTUS will deliver a hypersonic flight test capability unlike anything currently available in Europe, enabling technologies that make future reusable spaceplanes possible.
Noah Law, Member of Parliament for St Austell and Newquay commented: “INVICTUS would be an immensely welcome, long-term partner for and the kind that such a fine aerospace asset as Spaceport Cornwall – with one of the longest runways in the country and dedicated airspace – deserves.”
And fittingly considering the year started with the challenge to expand the activity we can host on site, 2025 ended with the announcement that we had started work alongside Cornwall’s WholeShip’s National Drone Hub, to establish a testing and evaluation environment for drones. For the techies this is an application to the Civil Aviation Authority to set up a SORA, a Specific Operations Risk Assessment, enabling drones, particularly large fast-moving systems, to access the military danger area to the north-west of Newquay for Beyond Visual Line of Site (BVLOS) ops. This combined with the airspace the National Drone Hub already operates at Predannack Airfield is nationally unique.
So that’s a wrap – well almost as we are working through until the new year if you need us – so just left to say Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Thank you for the support and see you next year for an even more exciting 2026!