The south-western English county of Cornwall is this year set to be the site of a notable chapter in UK space exploration.
The race is on to complete the first orbital launch on UK soil, with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit in pole position.
The company plans to carry a Welsh satellite into space from Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay this summer.
Virgin Orbit this month announced an agreement with start-up Space Forge to launch the satellite developed in Wales from the horizontal spaceport.
“We’re thrilled to be making UK history with our first launch,” said Joshua Western, chief executive of Space Forge.
“We will demonstrate the use of space for good, through in-space manufacturing and reliable return and it’s brilliant that both Virgin Orbit and Spaceport Cornwall share our ambitions.
“This is the start of a great collaboration and we are so excited to see where it goes.”
Horizontal spaceport
Spaceport Cornwall offers an existing airport runway and facilities that can be used for horizontal launches to space.
Virgin Orbit uses a modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft, called Cosmic Girl, which releases a rocket mid-air when the plane reaches a target altitude.
The aircraft returns to the runway and the rocket, called LauncherOne, carries the satellite payloads into low-Earth orbit.
At 21 metres in length, LauncherOne can launch up to 500 kilograms in each mission.
Virgin Orbit’s first orbital test launch in May 2020 ended in failure after a fuel line in the rocket ruptured.
However, the company has had three successful launches in 2021 and 2022, including when it delivered seven customer satellites in January from a spaceport in California.
What is the satellite?
Space Forge wants to build a small manufacturing plant in space, called ForgeStar, which will create products in space and then return them to Earth.
For the mission this summer, the company will launch ForgeStar-0, the first step towards building the factory.
Melissa Thorpe, head of Spaceport Cornwall, said the launch represented the chance “to set the bar for the global space industry”.
“Leading with companies like Space Forge, who are innovating in the responsible use of space, is key to this next iteration of space exploration,” she said.
Race for UK’s first orbital launch
Several horizontal and vertical spaceports are in development across the UK, including five in Scotland.
It is expected the Orbex Prime rocket would eventually launch sometime this year from the Sutherland Spaceport near Scotland’s northern coast.
However, it is unclear whether it would beat Virgin Orbit’s launch from Cornwall this summer.
Another spaceport is in development at the Shetland Islands, where Lockheed Martin has set up UK launch operations.
Spaceports beings built in Scotland - in pictures
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The biog
Favourite book: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Favourite holiday destination: Spain
Favourite film: Bohemian Rhapsody
Favourite place to visit in the UAE: The beach or Satwa
Children: Stepdaughter Tyler 27, daughter Quito 22 and son Dali 19
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RACE SCHEDULE
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday, September 29
First practice: 7am - 8.30am
Second practice: 11am - 12.30pm
Saturday, September 30
Qualifying: 1pm - 2pm
Sunday, October 1
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How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
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Kele Okereke
(BMG)
The biog
Birthday: February 22, 1956
Born: Madahha near Chittagong, Bangladesh
Arrived in UAE: 1978
Exercise: At least one hour a day on the Corniche, from 5.30-6am and 7pm to 8pm.
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi? “Everywhere. Wherever you go, you can relax.”
Profile
Company: Libra Project
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Remaining Fixtures
Wednesday: West Indies v Scotland
Thursday: UAE v Zimbabwe
Friday: Afghanistan v Ireland
Sunday: Final
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
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arcus Ericsson (Sauber)
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Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo and dual electric motors
Power: 300hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,500-3,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.0L/100km
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6pm: Mina Hamriya – Handicap (TB) $75,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
6.35pm: Al Wasl Stakes – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (Turf) 1,200m
7.10pm: UAE Oaks – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,900m
7.45pm: Blue Point Sprint – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,000m
8.20pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy – Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (T) 2,810m
8.55pm: Mina Rashid – Handicap (TB) $80,000 (T) 1,600m
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