Britain’s historic attempt to launch the first commercial satellite from western Europe failed on Monday night when the Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket suffered an “anomaly” that prevented the spacecraft from reaching orbit.
The failed mission was a heavy blow not only for the UK, which hoped to beat rival spaceports in Norway and Sweden to claim the crown as the main launch service provider in Europe, but also for Virgin Orbit, which aims to prove that it is horizontal. the launch system can fly satellites from anywhere in the world with a suitable runway.
It could mean significant losses for the seven customers who have satellites on the Virgin Orbit rocket, launched from Newquay airport, Cornwall, just after 22:00 GMT.
These include a UK-US military research mission, Oman’s first orbital spacecraft designed for earth observation, a demonstrator satellite from UK start-up Space Forge, and a payload designed to track maritime activity from the UK’s Satellite Applications Catapult.
Virgin Orbit announced the “anomaly” 10 minutes before midnight, less than an hour after the rocket launched from Cosmic Girl, a 747 jumbo jet modified to release LauncherOne at 35,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean.
The mission appeared to be going well until Virgin Orbit prematurely posted on Twitter that the rocket had reached orbit. Cosmic Girl had released the rocket without a problem, and had jettisoned the first stage.
But at 11.46am, as the jumbo jet returned safely to Newquay, Virgin Orbit suddenly pposted on Twitter: “We seem to have an anomaly that is preventing us from reaching orbit. We are evaluating the information.
Image from the live stream of the booster rocket firing on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne © PA
The company shortly after halted the livestream which had attracted around 50,000 viewers, thanking its customers and Spaceport Cornwall for their efforts.
Alice Bunn, president of trade body UKspace, said the failure was a disappointment. But it will not undermine the UK’s ambitions to become Europe’s leading launch service provider.
“Space is difficult,” she said. “If you look at the history of space, there have been some failures. You know what happened and then you get up and try again.
Britain is taking a very commercial approach to developing its space capabilities, he said, which will allow for quicker decisions on new efforts than some of its European competitors.
It’s unclear how long it will take for Virgin Orbit to try again. A probable cause investigation will be conducted which will determine the cause and gravity of the failure. Last month, Europe’s mid-range Vega-C rocket failed and is expected to be grounded for several months pending the completion of an investigation.