Spaceport Cornwall's Melissa Thorpe named as one to watch in 2022

The head of the UK’s first horizontal spaceport, based in Cornwall, has been named by the Observer as one of 2022’s “faces to watch”.

Melissa Thorpe, head of Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay, has been named alongside incoming Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and UK foreign secretary Liz Truss as a key figure “who will be making headlines this year”.

Ms Thorpe is joined in the science section of the list by Covid recovery treatment research Professor Martin Landray and BBC wildlife presenter Megan McCubbin.

Spaceport Cornwall is a consortium of partners working to deliver the UK’s first horizontal launch spaceport, described on Spaceport Cornwall’s website as “a low-cost, competitive and sustainable hub in Cornwall”.

With a planned launch date of summer 2022, Spaceport Cornwall’s website states the project aims to “provide a complete ‘end to end’ UK launch capability to support all aspects of launch, including suborbital vehicles and systems and those able to place satellites into earth orbit.”

The project is delivered by Cornwall Council with main launch operator Virgin Orbit, mission management and satellite tracking provider Goonhilly Earth Station, and project funder UK Space Agency.

Melissa Thorpe told SWTD: "The countdown to launch is well and truly on and this is an incredible way to kick off 2022. The entire team are so proud to be representing Cornwall on this international stage and we can't wait to cement the region's role as a leader in the space industry this summer." 

Find out more about Spaceport Cornwall at spaceportcornwall.co