Virgin Orbit launch – as it happened: UK rocket ‘burns in atmosphere’ as failure casts doubt over future missions

Mission was set to be first ever rocket launch from UK soil

Virgin Orbit: Space agency chief ‘doesn’t know’ what went wrong as mission fails to reach orbit

The UK’s first-ever space mission has failed after “an anomaly” prevented the Virgin Orbit rocket from reaching orbit.

The rocket and the nine satellites it was carrying, reportedly burned up in the atmosphere after the launch failed.

It was projected to land over water, but burned up in Earth’s atmosphere on reentry, according to New Scientist.

Shortly before midnight, an official on the live stream announced the rocket suffered an “anomaly” that meant it failed to reach orbit.

The launch was an opportunity for Virgin Orbit to show its investors what it was capable of, but the failure has led to its tanking as much as a third in after-hours trading and is set for a $200m fall.

The launch was set to be the first-ever rocket launch from UK soil, as well as the first time that satellites have been launched from Europe.

Virgin Orbit’s unusual system sees a plane carry the rocket up to 35,000 feet, before dropping it off to carry its satellites into space.

Key Points

• UK space mission fails
• Small seaside town awaits western Europe’s first ever satellite launch
• UK Space Agency excited for launch

[10 January 2023 07:19 · Vishwam Sankaran]

What launch failure could mean for Virgin Orbit

Before Monday’s failed attempt, Virgin Orbit had nailed four of its first five attempts.

While this is a good record overall for a startup space launch company, the company is reportedly still yet to reach a high number of yearly missions.

The space company conducted two launches in 2022, but the number was short of its forecast for four to six missions at the beginning of last year, according to CNBC.

Yesterday’s launch was an opportunity for the company to show its investors it was capable of, but its failure has led to its stocks plunging as much as below $1.40/share (-30 per cent) in after-hours trading.

“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,” Virgin Orbit chief Dan Heart said in a statement.

“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,” he added.

[10 January 2023 07:48 · Vishwam Sankaran]

Rocket burned up in atmosphere after launch failure – report

Virgin Orbit’s rocket and the nine satellites it was carrying to low-Earth orbit reportedly burned up in the atmosphere after the launch failed.

The rocket, which was projected to land over water, burned up in Earth’s atmosphere on reentry, according to New Scientist.

Virgin Orbit said in a statement that “at some point” during the firing of the rocket’s second stage engine, the system experienced “an anomaly,” that ended the mission prematurely.

Although the mission did not achieve its final orbit, the company said its feat still represents an important step forward.

“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,” Melissa Thorpe, Head of Spaceport Cornwall said.

[10 January 2023 08:06 · Vishwam Sankaran]

Nine small satellites lost in Virgin Orbit launch failure

Virgin Orbit’s rocket launch failure has resulted in the loss of the nine small satellites it was carrying.

The payloads included small UK defense satellites, one for studying space weather and another studying the ionosphere as well as a navigation satellite co-funded by the European Space Agency.

The satellites were insured, according to the BBC, suggesting the manufacturers and operators will likely be compensated.

“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,” Virgin Orbit chief Dan Heart said in a statement.

[10 January 2023 08:45 · Vishwam Sankaran]

Virgin Orbit shares fall by nearly third after rocket failure

Virgin Orbit is presently trading at $1.39, with its shares falling by nearly a third – a loss of over $200m.

The company’s stock took a plunge as much as below $1.40 per share in after-hour trading yesterday after its rocket failed to reach orbit due to “an anomaly.”

While the mission did not achieve its final orbit, Virgin Orbit said its feat still represents an important step forward.

“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,” Virgin Orbit chief Dan Hart said.

[10 January 2023 08:54 · Vishwam Sankaran]

'Don't know what caused anomaly,' space agency head says

Matt Archer, Director of Commercial Spaceflight at the UK Space Agency, said the agency would work with Virgin Orbit to understand what went wrong with the launch.

“Over the coming days we will work closely with Virgin Orbit as they investigate what caused the anomaly,” Mr Archer said in a statement.

“Currently we don’t know what caused the anomaly,” he said adding that despite the failure, the project has succeeded in creating a horizontal launch capability at Spaceport Cornwall.

[10 January 2023 09:05 · Vishwam Sankaran]

There may be another launch at Spaceport Cornwall later this year: Virgin Orbit chief

Virgin Orbit chief Dan Hart had said before the launch that company may be back at Spaceport Cornwall later in 2023.

“We’re excited about the future and coming back, maybe as soon as later this year, to launch again and hopefully get a rhythm going,” Mr Hart said at a pre-launch press conference.

“We want to be a part of the fabric of the space community here in the U.K. as well as globally. That’s our objective as a company,” he said.

Following the failed launch, the Virgin Orbit chief said the “first-time nature” of the mission added layers of complexity.

“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,” he said in a statement.

[10 January 2023 09:27 · Vishwam Sankaran]

Failure of Virgin Orbit launch to reach orbit 'disappointing', space agency head says.

The UK Space Agency’s Director of Commercial Spaceflight Matt Archer said the Virgin Orbit rocket launch result was “disappointing”.

While the mission could launch the rocket into orbit, it was “not successful in reaching the required orbit”, he explained.

Mr Archer added that the UK remains committed to becoming the leading provider of commercial small satellite launches in Europe by 2030, “with vertical launches planned from Scotland”.

More on the space agency head’s statement here.

[10 January 2023 09:54 · Vishwam Sankaran]

‘Great thing no-one was harmed,’ UK Business Secretary says

UK Business Secretary Grant Shapps expressed hope that the teams behind yesterday’s failed launch would “go again once they find out what exactly went wrong.”

“The great thing about this technology is that no-one was harmed. The pilots came back in the aircraft,” he told Sky News.

“Space is difficult,” Mr Shapps said, adding that it a “big moment” yesterday nonetheless.

[10 January 2023 10:32 · Vishwam Sankaran]

ICYMI: Timeline of events that led to Virgin Orbit mission's 'anomaly'

The jumbo jet Cosmic Girl carrying Virgin Orbit’s rocket lifted off from Spaceport Cornwall at 22:02 GMT on schedule, and flew to 35,000ft over the Atlantic Ocean.

It then released the 21-meter-long rocket about an hour later off Ireland’s southwest coast.

The company’s live telecast said the rocket’s first stage successfully ignited, and its two stages separated over three minutes after the drop.

But a few minutes after the rocket’s upper stage finished a nearly five-minute burn, Virgin Orbit announced that something had gone wrong.

“We appear to have an anomaly that has prevented us from reaching orbit. We are evaluating the information. As we find out more, we’re removing our previous tweet about reaching orbit. We’ll share more info when we can,” the space company tweeted.

“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,” Virgin Orbit later said in a statement.

The plane returned to Spaceport Cornwall safely as engineers attempted to establish what went wrong.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve been knocked, this is the biggest definitely, but I feel okay and we’ll get up and we’ll go again,” Melissa Thorpe, head of Spaceport Cornwall, said.

[10 January 2023 10:45 · Vishwam Sankaran]

Two more sites in UK currently being developed for space launch

Two more places in the UK are reportedly in the final stages of space launch preparations.

SpaceHub Sutherland in Scotland and SaxaVord Spaceport off the Scottish coast are being developed to serve vertical micro-rocket launches, according to Space.com.

Spaceport Cornwall chief Melisa Thorpe said it cost £20 million ($24 million) to prepare the Newquay airport for the Virgin Orbit launch.

The UK Space Agency has reportedly provided funding for seven sites overall in 2017 to make space-related upgrades.