Here’s how Virgin Orbit will attempt a new launch from the UK
After failed mission from Spaceport Cornwall in the UK, Richard Branson's aerospace company wants to try again with more launches later this year
Virgin Orbit is not giving up and is committed to planning the launch of a new satellite from the UK by the end of the year.
On January 10, the historic attempt by the United Kingdom to become the first European nation to put satellites into orbit failed. The rocket launched by Comisc Girl, a jumbo Boeing 747 of aerospace company Virgin Orbit, which successfully took off from the runway at Spaceport Cornwall, suffered a malfunction during the mission , which led to the loss of its payload of nine satellites.
If successful, the UK would have become the ninth country in the world capable of putting satellites into orbit and the first to launch commercial satellites from Western Europe.
Virgin Orbit, the aerospace company of Richard Branson's Virgin Group (with a 75% majority stake), said on Thursday it would attempt another rocket launch from Cornwall.
All the details.
BY THE END OF THE YEAR VIRGIN ORBIT WILL TRY AGAIN
“Virgin Orbit… anticipates returning to Spaceport Cornwall for further launches, and is in active talks with key governmental and commercial stakeholders in the UK to begin planning mission opportunities later this year,” the aerospace company said. in a press release.
THE FAILED LAUNCH FROM BRITISH SOIL
Last Monday was the sixth launch for Virgin Orbit, but the previous five had taken off from California. This would have been the first orbital launch outside the United States, the first from British soil, but the rocket failed to reach target orbit. After successfully taking off from the runway at Spaceport Cornwall and traveling to the designated drop zone, the Boeing 747 serving as the LauncherOne system transport aircraft released the rocket. After that, the latter suffered an "anomaly" that prevented it from reaching orbit. The Start me Up mission was to deploy nine satellites into orbit, all of which were lost. No problem for the Boeing "Cosmic Girl", returned to base with the crew.
The California-based company said it has launched a formal investigation into the source of its rocket's second stage failure. "At some point during the rocket's flight into space, the upper stage experienced an anomaly," the company said.
"This anomalous event ended the mission, with rocket components and payload descending to Earth within the approved safety corridor without reaching orbit," Virgin Orbit said. It added that all required corrective actions identified during the investigation would be completed before the start of its next mission, which is expected to be from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.
THE GOAL OF SIR BRANSON'S COMPANY
The failure of the mission represents a major blow not only to the UK, which was hoping to reclaim the crown as Europe's leading launch service provider, but also to Virgin Orbit, which aimed to prove it could fly satellites from anywhere in the world. world.
Virgin Orbit was counting on Monday's mission to demonstrate that its mobile launch system could be brought to any suitable runway, offering rapid access to space for nations that had previously had to rely on other countries.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/ecco-come-virgin-orbit-tentera-un-nuovo-lancio-dal-regno-unito/ on Fri, 13 Jan 2023 06:51:02 +0000.