Virgin Orbit has completed a full launch rehearsal and is now ready for the company’s next launch which is planned to be the first orbital space launch from the U.K. from Spaceport Cornwall, all to be determined by the launch permitting, regulatory process.
This rehearsal marked the final major acceptance test of the rocket prior to mating to its carrier aircraft – an upcycled Boeing 747 dubbed “Cosmic Girl”– and starting pre-launch operations. Meanwhile, integration of customer satellites into the rocket’s fairing is expected to begin this week in the newly inaugurated Space Systems Integration Facility (SSIF) at Spaceport Cornwall.
With the firm’s newest rocket to date, Virgin Orbit looks to build on a track record of successful operational orbital launches — to date, the company has delivered each of the 33 satellites it has carried precisely to their desired orbits. In doing so, Virgin Orbit’s air-launched system has proven its ability to fly through, and above, inclement weather, integrate rapid-call up payloads as well as reach a broader range of orbits than would be possible from a traditional, ground-launched system.
The company’s full, wet dress rehearsal was completed on on October 2, three months after the successful launch of the Virgin Orbit Straight Up mission. According to the company, this reduction of nearly half of the time required between the company’s previous missions, along with a significant decrease in the cost of manufacturing, continues the trend of the company’s rapid evolution into a higher operational cadence.
As an air-launched system, Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne can turn nearly any airport into a spaceport. This capability creates a new level of mobility for satellite launch, thereby enabling sovereign launch capability in new markets. The launch from the Cornwall spaceport will demonstrate Virgin Orbit’s ability to enable virtually any country to become a spacefaring nation. Once manufactured, integrated and tested, a LauncherOne rocket can be sent to any of a variety of locations for final preparation and launch, responding to the needs of the commercial, civil and national security space communities.
In addition to the rapidly approaching mission that will bring orbital launch to the United Kingdom for the first time, Virgin Orbit has announced collaborative efforts to bring their air launch system to the nations of Australia, Brazil, Japan, Poland, and the Republic of Korea.
