Successful mission comes as Sir Richard Branson announces Virgin Orbit's first launch from Britain had failed
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has overshadowed Sir Richard Branson’s failed attempt to launch a rocket from UK soil by blasting dozens of British satellites into space.
Mr Musk’s rocket company carried communications satellites from UK business OneWeb, which is partly owned by the taxpayer, into orbit early on Tuesday morning.
The successful mission came as Sir Richard and UK ministers announced Virgin Orbit’s first mission from Britain had ended in failure.
Satellites from Virgin’s launch from Spaceport Cornwall failed to reach orbit. The mission involved a converted Boeing 747, named Cosmic Girl, taking off from an airstrip in Newquay at 10.02pm on Monday night, carrying a rocket to 35,000 ft.
The 70ft rocket then dropped from under its wing out to sea and blasted into space. However, the mission then experienced an “anomaly” during its second stage and its satellite release failed. The rocket is believed to have burned up on reentry.
Virgin Orbit shares plunged 30pc when US markets opened on Tuesday, wiping around $200m from the value of Sir Richard’s company.
The failure is a disappointment for UK officials who have long hoped to turn Britain into a sovereign space power with its own launch capacity.
George Freeman, the Space Minister, said he was “gutted”. Meanwhile, Grant Shapps, the Transport Minister, was forced to delete a Tweet celebrating the mission after it emerged that his team had reused a photo from last year, but airbrushed out former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Despite declaring the mission had reached orbit in a Tweet, Virgin Orbit was forced to delete the post shortly before midnight and admit the mission had gone wrong.
Virgin Orbit launch system, which can take off from a normal runway, is supposed to provide added flexibility compared to normal rockets.
But so far, two of its six attempted missions have failed. Its other launches have taken place out of the US.
The Cornwall spaceport and mission had secured around £20m in taxpayer backing via the UK Space Agency and Cornwall Council.
Virgin Orbit has planned up to 17 launches from the UK over the next decade, but the failure is likely to lead to delays before the next mission.
The Civil Aviation Authority, which regulates UK space launches, said: "While the result of this launch is disappointing, as the UK space regulator we will be working closely with all parties as investigations begin to understand what happened."
UK officials are hoping for more space launches in 2023, including more traditional "vertical" rocket launches that are planned in Scotland.
Early on Tuesday morning, however, Mr Musk’s SpaceX confirmed a successful launch of 40 satellites from British company OneWeb from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The SpaceX mission, on a Falcon 9 rocket, released the communications satellites into low orbit. They are designed to provide rural broadband connectivity.
SpaceX is targeting up to 100 launches this year.
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11 January, 2023
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Elon Musk overshadows Sir Richard Branson by firing 40 British … – The Telegraph
by Jason Peters
Successful mission comes as Sir Richard Branson announces Virgin Orbit's first launch from Britain had failed Elon Musk’s SpaceX has overshadowed Sir Richard Branson’s failed attempt to launch a rocket from UK soil by blasting dozens of British satellites into space.Mr Musk’s rocket company carried communications satellites from UK business OneWeb, which is partly owned... Read More