Virgin Orbit Launch – Cornwall News Media Filming

Cornwall news media filming! The world was watching us. Because we were not only filming for Spaceport Cornwall. We were also working for Virgin on the livestream of the launch. Plus we were covering the event for a US national news station. And we had been working on the project for months now building to this day…

Live News Feed to the U.S.

History in the making

So we were filming history in the making as Virgin Orbit launched the first Rocket from UK soil into orbit. The Crow Creative team travelled up to Newquay Airport on the 8th January 2023 to document the press announcement of this huge event for Cornwall. We were briefed and not disclose the exact date of the launch until after this press announcement by 4Media who we were working for.

Launch Plan

Excitement on the launch site

The site had the feel of a small festival with merchandise, silent disco and VIP tents and food stands for the public. Plus the Press Zone where we were based with its own food stalls and national news outlet vans scattered around the Media Control Centers.

Media Streaming Studio

Collaborations

We collaborated with Gary Shainberg of TSO and their team, recording and broadcasting the livestream for Virgin Orbit.
The following day we had our own platform to shoot the launch from. We were linked up to the Media Control Room in the howling wind and occasional hail storm. Not perfect conditions for filming at midnight in a Cornish winter

Our filming platform for launch

Flight Risk

This flight was of course high risk, to the pilots, and potentially the public. So there was an official NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) of a cordon over a large area south of Ireland to ensure there was no fishermen in the area when the rocket was released. We also had our own contingency plan in the media control room in the event of an anomaly. The team called it the “Oh Sh*t Button” where the live feed would not transmit the signal if a serious issue were to happen.

Disappointment

Well, the world knows that due to technical issues the launch was unsuccessful. So we are all looking forward to the next launch from Newquay Spaceport. Hoping it will be successful. And we will be there – Cornwall News Media Filming for a world audience. Anyway we still had the special edition beers to enjoy!

Special edition beers