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A former Virgin passenger plane is scheduled to take off from Newquay Airport tonight, before heading out to the Atlantic and dropping a rocket that will fly nine satellites into space.
The launch, set to take place tonight at 10pm, has fuelled excitement by locals and aviation fans alike.
Virgin Orbit's space plane took off from Newquay Airport at 22:02 GMT and is currently on its way out to the Atlantic, where it with drop a rocket that will then blast into orbit with a payload of nine satellites.
Virgin Orbit's repurposed 747 jumbo jet took off from Cornwall shortly after 22:00 GMT and about an hour later dropped a 70-ft long rocket from its belly which then blasted into space.
How exactly will the launch work, what is being fired into orbit and could humans one day travel to space from Spaceport Cornwall's Newquay Airport base? MailOnline has all the answers.