Newquay Airport has been earmarked as a potential hub for pretty much everything space-related — from space technology companies, satellite launches, to space tourism and film sets.
UK test Runway wheels for @Bloodhound_SSC arrive at the new tech centre #aerohub #newquay #cornwall pic.twitter.com/51PchpbOv5
— Daniel Johns (@DanJohns_SSC) April 19, 2013
The town's airport is already home to Aerohub, an aerospace Enterprise Zone, and has one of the longest runways in the UK — making it ideal for rocket launches.
"Our proximity to the sea means aircraft can be over open water just seconds after take-off," Mark Duddridge, Chair of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership said.
Duddridge also points out on his blog that the Aerohub Enterprise Zone now includes the Goonhilly Earth Station on the Lizard Peninsula which has been used to relay live messages to school kids from British astronaut Tim Peake from the International Space Station.
The revelation that Newquay could become a hub — not just for surfers — but future space tourists alike, emerged after the UK Government outlined its Modern Transport Bill which also includes a commitment to driverless cars and drones.
The Bill promises to "put Britain at the forefront of the modern transport revolution," and that includes the UK's first spaceport.
A spaceport is where sub-orbital planes operate; space experiments are performed and satellites deployed.
So for those tourists fed up with all the Cornwall's surf, cider and cream-teas, a trip into space could one day be on the horizon.
#Cornishpasty #Roseland #happyday @roverade @ltluchristian @ProperCornishUK @smugglersbrew @CornStreetFood pic.twitter.com/Rw8Pg5kjvd
— Tea By The Sea (@teaseacornwall) May 3, 2016
