The UK's first ever attempt at launching satellites into space has, ultimately, ended in disappointment, with the rocket carrying the payload reaching space but not its target orbit.
Having been successfully carried to its designated drop zone, LauncherOne, the two-stage orbital launch vehicle developed and flown by Virgin Orbit, ignited its engines and hurtled into space at hypersonic speeds. However, having completed several separation stages, LauncherOne experienced an “anomaly” which ended its mission prematurely.
Despite the disappointment of not achieving its intended goals, the mission is still being praised for its numerous and significant first-time achievements. While it will be back to the drawing board for the Start Me Up mission team, the experience does prove that space launch from UK soil is achievable.
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The 21-metre LauncherOne rocket was carried to its designated drop zone by Cosmic Girl, a modified Boeing 747-400 aircraft. Image courtesy of Virgin Orbit.
Dan Hart, Virgin Orbit CEO, said: “While we are very proud of the many things that we successfully achieved as part of this mission, 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. 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 and mission assurance process.”
Matt Archer, Director of Commercial Spaceflight at the UK Space Agency, said: “Last night, Virgin Orbit attempted the first orbital launch from Spaceport Cornwall. We have shown the UK is capable of launching into orbit, but the launch was not successful in reaching the required orbit. We will work closely with Virgin Orbit as they investigate what caused the anomaly in the coming days and weeks. While this result is disappointing, launching a spacecraft always carries significant risks. Despite this, the project has succeeded in creating a horizontal launch capability at Spaceport Cornwall, and we remain committed to becoming the leading provider of commercial small satellite launch in Europe by 2030, with vertical launches planned from Scotland.”
Melissa Thorpe, Head of Spaceport Cornwall, added: “We are so incredibly proud of everything we have achieved with our partners and friends across the space industry here in the UK and in the US – we made it to space – a UK first. Unfortunately we learned that Virgin Orbit experienced an anomaly which means we didn’t achieve a successful mission. Today we inspired millions, and we will continue to look to inspire millions more. Not just with our ambition but also with our fortitude. Yes, space is hard, but we are only just getting started.”
Chris Larmour, CEO, UK-based rocket company Orbex: “Space is never easy, so we were sorry to learn that Virgin Orbit’s first horizontal orbital space launch from the UK did not go as planned. We know how much time, effort and energy must have been invested to deliver that launch attempt, and we wish them well for their next mission.
“The Orbex team is fully focused on introducing the UK to vertical orbital launches with the debut of our UK-built environmentally-friendly rocket, Prime. We will be launching from our own pad at Sutherland Spaceport in Scotland in the near future.”
Chris Larmour, CEO of UK-based rocket company Orbex: “Space is never easy, so we were sorry to learn that Virgin Orbit’s first horizontal orbital space launch from the UK did not go as planned. We know how much time, effort and energy must have been invested to deliver that launch attempt, and we wish them well for their next mission.”
“The Orbex team is fully focused on introducing the UK to vertical orbital launches with the debut of our UK-built environmentally-friendly rocket, Prime. We will be launching from our own pad at Sutherland Spaceport in Scotland in the near future.”
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