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The chief pilot for Virgin Orbit’s failed space rocket launch was an experienced RAF squadron leader from Milton Keynes, it has been revealed.

Matthew Stannard, known as Stanny, is a Test Pilot who is a dab hand at flying the Typhoon and the Lightning (F-35).

The Squadron Leader at RAF Coningsby, he has been on an industrial placement with Virgin Orbit’s Pilot Corps since 2019.

Flight Lieutenant Mathew Stannard was the chief pilot in the Virgin Orbit launch

City MP Ben Everitt singled him out just before the launch yesterday (Monday) evening, saying on his Facebook page: “Matthew Stannard from #MiltonKeynes is the Chief Pilot for the UK's first ever rocket launch - a historic moment.”

He added: “This is awesome!”

Sadly the anticipated historic moment of the first orbital space rocket launch from European soil did not turn out to be quite so awesome after all.

Virgin Orbit's repurposed 747 jumbo jet called Cosmic Girl was to be released high over the Atlantic from Newquay in Cornwall and launch a rocket to take nine shoebox-sized satellites more than 500km above Earth.

MK's Matthew Stannard in action with his fellow pilot

But though the rocket was jettisoned, there was, in the words of Virgin Orbit, an “anomaly” and the satellites could not be released.

The debris of the rocket is now thought to have either burned in space or come down in the Atlantic ocean.

Virgin Orbit experts say the failure happened during the firing of the rocket's second stage engine, when it was travelling at a speed of more than 11,000 miles per hour.

With millions due to watch the mission on YouTube, Sqn Ldr Stannard was the lead pilot sitting in the carrier plane, monitoring the rocket to ensure it was safe.

Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said afterwards: "We are mindful that we failed to provide our customers with the launch service they deserve. The first-time nature of this mission added layers of complexity that our team professionally managed through; however, in the end a technical failure appears to have prevented us from delivering the final orbit.”

He added: "We will work tirelessly to understand the nature of the failure, make corrective actions, and return to orbit as soon as we have completed a full investigation..."

The government will work with Virgin Orbit to investigate the failure, which Business Secretary Grant Shapps has described as “disappointing”.

Chief pilot for failed Virgin Orbit rocket launch lives in Milton Keynes