The first satelite mission launched from the UK has ended in failure – though the jumbo jet was able to return safely.

Helmed by the American Virgin Orbit company, the launch – which took place near Newquay on the evening of January 9 – saw the rocket successfully ignite, appearing to ascend as planned. However, word came through shortly after from Virgin that the rocket had suffered a technical “anomaly.”

The mission was set to spearhead the launch of a homegrown British space industry – and, despite the failure, that’s still very much the case, with Scotland’s Sutherland paceport set to see the launch of up to 12 orbital rockets per year, carrying satellites into low Earth orbit.

Chris Larmour, CEO of UK-based rocket company Orbex – who are contracted to build and operate the Sutherland spacport – commented:

“Space is never easy, so we were sorry to learn that Virgin Orbit’s first horizontal orbital space launch from the UK did not go as planned. We know how much time, effort and energy must have been invested to deliver that launch attempt, and we wish them well for their next mission.”

“The Orbex team is fully focused on introducing the UK to vertical orbital launches with the debut of our UK-built environmentally-friendly rocket, Prime. We will be launching from our own pad at Sutherland Spaceport in Scotland in the near future.”

Deputy CEO of the UK Space Agency, Ian Annett, lamented that the Newquay launch demonstrated just “how difficult” getting into orbit actually is.

He told the BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “We get up, we go back, we try again, that’s what defines us.”