The launch of the rocket from under a 747 Jumbo over southern England was marred by a technical problem that caused it to crash during its maiden flight. This hampered the UK’s efforts to become a space nation and sent Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc shares plummeting. tumbling.
Virgin Orbit’s modified 747 “Cosmic Girl”, carrying Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket under its wing, took off from Spaceport Cornwall at 10.02 p.m. (local time). The rocket deployed successfully and ignited its main engine at an altitude of approximately 35,000 feet (10.668 meters). The mission was ended when the vehicle experienced an unidentified anomaly during the flight.
The unmanned rocket could not deploy the satellites it was carrying. The crew of the aircraft safely returned to their home.
After Virgin Orbit tweeted prematurely that the launch had reached orbit, confusion arose. Later, Virgin Orbit claimed that an anomaly prevented the rocket from reaching orbit. It also deleted the original tweet.
After-hours trading sees Virgin Orbit shares plummet following a failure
An unknown anomaly occurred after the rocket was launched from the plane
Space missions can fail, but they are not uncommon. This particular failure is more significant because of the patriotic fanfare it received. It sought to place Britain on the map by proving that it was able to launch from its soil. Virgin put off plans for a pre-Christmas launch due to last-minute snags but was able to complete the mission in the first of many new windows.
Virgin Orbit stated in a statement, “Represents an important Step Forward.”
The rocket decoupled from the aircraft and started its engines. It reached hypersonic speed and reached space. There it ignited the second stage. Virgin Orbit stated that the rocket separated and ignited the second phase.
Virgin Orbit stated that the rocket experienced an anomaly while it was firing its second-stage engine. The rocket was travelling at more than 11,000 mph and the rocket was at high speed, so the launch was halted prematurely.
Apart from the horizontal launch attempt yesterday from Spaceport Cornwall, Newquay, south England, two Scottish bases have also committed to vertical blastoffs in Cape Canaveral style by the end of the year. Three other UK sites are also seeking permission for horizontal launches.
After-hours trading saw Virgin Orbit shares fall 27%. Yesterday’s launch marked Virgin Orbit’s sixth attempt at orbit and its second in-flight failure. The company has launched successfully to orbit four times so far from Mojave in California.
“It appears LauncherOne has suffered a glitch which will prevent us from making orbit for the mission,” Christopher Relf (Virgin Orbit’s director, Systems Engineering and Verification), said during a live stream. “We are reviewing the data and information that we have received.”
