Melissa Quinn, the Head of Spaceport Cornwall, will be leaving her position at the end of this month.

Melissa joined the Spaceport project at its inception in 2014, providing support for the UK Space Agency Launch UK programme.

She took responsibility for the project in January 2021. Under her leadership, the team achieved a historic milestone with the first-ever UK space launch in January 2023.

Despite the satellites not reaching their final orbit, the Spaceport and Cornwall Airport Newquay teams flawlessly executed ground operations, justifying their achievement of being awarded the UK's first spaceport license.

Melissa has championed Cornwall on a global stage and helped developed partnerships locally in order to accelerate the growth of Cornwall’s space sector.

Melissa said: ‘I am incredibly proud of what my small, dedicated team, and I have achieved. Mostly, I am proud of our work with local young people, especially girls, inspiring them to get into STEAM careers.

“I am leaving Spaceport Cornwall at the start of an exciting new chapter, and I will be cheering it on from the side lines. I want to say thank you to my team and our partners for helping to deliver our purpose of Space for Good, putting Cornwall on the world’s stage.”

Louis Gardner, Portfolio Holder for the Economy said; “I would like to thank Melissa personally for her dedication and leadership in making Spaceport Cornwall a reality - and in particularly the way in which her work has inspired thousands of young people to understand that an amazing career in space is something they can achieve right here in Cornwall.”

Cornwall Council recently approved the Space Sector Development Strategy which sets out the future direction of the project over the next two years.