Posted on by Jim

Virgin’s Cosmic Girl Arrives in North Cornwall

In a press release yesterday Spaceport Cornwall announced that:

Ahead of the first launch from UK soil, “Cosmic Girl” Virgin Orbit’s converted Boeing 747 launch vehicle has touched down at Spaceport Cornwall, Cornwall Airport Newquay.

Cosmic Girl will carry seven payloads into Lower Earth Orbit from Cornwall via the LauncherOne rocket on the aptly named “Start Me Up” mission; Virgin Orbit’s first international launch.

The missions of these satellites span a wide range of activities aimed at improving life on planet Earth, including reducing the environmental impact of production; preventing illegal trafficking, smuggling, and terrorism; and a host of national security functions.

Amongst the numerous people quoted in the press release, Matt Archer, Director of Commercial Spaceflight at the UK Space Agency, said:

Watching a 747 land is always impressive, but everyone had goosebumps as Cosmic Girl touched down on the runway at Spaceport Cornwall for the first time.

We are now a matter of weeks away from launch and, while the excitement is building, teams on the ground continue to work hard on the preparations. More equipment, including the rocket, will arrive in the coming days and the delicate task of integrating the satellites will begin.

We have never done this before in the UK, it is a complex and technically challenging endeavour, and I’m confident in the capabilities of our partners at Virgin Orbit and Spaceport Cornwall to deliver a successful mission.”

Linda Taylor, Leader for Cornwall Council, added:

This is an exciting and significant moment as we welcome Cosmic Girl to the first UK Spaceport right here in Cornwall. Cornwall Council is proud to be a part of this project which puts Cornwall once again on the global stage. Spaceport Cornwall is already inspiring our young people to become the next generation of scientists and innovators – we look forward to the ground breaking research and exploration that will be undertaken in the years to come, which will help us to better understand and address the needs of our planet and in particular climate change.

3 Replies to “Virgin’s Cosmic Girl Arrives in North Cornwall”

  1. In another press release Spaceport Cornwall has announced that:

    LauncherOne, Virgin Orbit’s rocket set to deliver the first ever launch from UK soil, has arrived at Spaceport Cornwall.

    The rocket left California, loaded on a C-17 military aircraft on Thursday 13th of October, touching down at Cornwall Airport Newquay on Friday evening.

    Later this year, LauncherOne will carry seven payloads into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) on the Start Me Up mission. This will include the first ever satellite launched by the Sultanate of Oman focused on Earth Observation; future-facing return satellite tech aboard Wales’ first satellite, built by Space Forge; a Maritime monitoring payload built by Horizon Technologies and the Satellite Applications Catapult; as well satellites from the MOD, DSTL and US National Reconnaissance Office.

    Start Me Up will be a launch of many firsts: the first orbital launch ever from the United Kingdom; the first international launch for Virgin Orbit, and the first commercial launch from Western Europe.

    Reply

  2. In a report this morning ITV state that:

    An investigation will be carried out after a mission to launch satellites from the UK, which would have made British space history, failed.

    The attempt to launch a rocket into orbit from UK soil for the first time suffered an ‘anomaly’ during the flight.

    Virgin Orbit’s modified Boeing 747 took off from Cornwall, last night (9 January) but the rocket failed to reach orbit after a technical issue.

    Virgin Orbit issued a statement early this morning (10 January) saying that the historic attempt ‘ultimately fell short of reaching its target’.

    Virgin Orbit’s announcement states that:

    After successfully taking off from the runway at Spaceport Cornwall – which just a few weeks ago was transformed from a mere slab of empty cement at a commercial airport to the world’s newest space launch operations center – and travelling to the designated drop zone, Cosmic Girl, the customized 747 that serves as the LauncherOne system’s carrier aircraft, successfully released the rocket.

    The rocket then ignited its engines, quickly going hypersonic and successfully reaching space. The flight then continued through successful stage separation and ignition of the second stage. However, at some point during the firing of the rocket’s second stage engine and with the rocket travelling at a speed of more than 11,000 miles per hour, the system experienced an anomaly, ending the mission prematurely.

    Though the mission did not achieve its final orbit, by reaching space and achieving numerous significant first-time achievements, it represents an important step forward. The effort behind the flight brought together new partnerships and integrated collaboration from a wide range of partners, including the UK Space Agency, the Royal Air Force, the Civil Aviation Authority, the US Federal Aviation Administration, the National Reconnaissance Office, and more, and demonstrated that space launch is achievable from UK soil…

    Reply

  3. According to the BBC this morning:

    Virgin Orbit is to pause operations from Thursday in an apparent attempt to shore up its finances.

    Almost all employees at the satellite launch company will reportedly also be furloughed.

    Bosses told staff about the move at a meeting on Wednesday, saying a further update would be provided next week.

    It comes after the company’s failure to launch the first ever satellite mission from UK soil in January.

    Chief Executive Dan Hart told staff that the furlough would buy Virgin Orbit time to finalise a new investment plan, a source who attended the event told Reuters news agency.

    It was not clear how long the furlough would last, but Mr Hart said employees would be given more information by the middle of next week.

    Shares in Virgin Orbit dropped 18.8% to 82 cents (72p) in extended trading, Reuters said.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 2 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video, document, spreadsheet, interactive, text, archive, code, other. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.