Orbex chief says 'space isn't easy' after failed Virgin Orbit launch
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A rocket company due to launch satellites from a new spaceport on the north coast has expressed sympathy after Virgin Orbit failed in a historic launch attempt this week.
Virgin Orbit was attempting to launch satellites for the first time from British soil – but fell short of reaching its target orbit.
The firm said that an anomaly at the second stage of engine firing brought the attempt to a premature end, but added that important lessons will be learned.
The horizontal launch involves a converted passenger plane carrying the rocket to a mid-air launch zone, where its own engines are then fired.
After successfully taking off from the runway at Spaceport Cornwall and travelling to the designated drop zone, Cosmic Girl, the customised 747 that serves as the LauncherOne system’s carrier aircraft, successfully released the rocket.
The rocket then ignited its engines, quickly going hypersonic and successfully reaching space. The flight then continued through successful stage separation and ignition of the second stage. However, 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.
Chris Larmour, CEO of Forres-based rocket company Orbex – which will use a vertical launch pad at Space Hub Sutherland – was sympathetic after the failed mission.
He said: “Space is never easy, so we were sorry to learn that Virgin Orbit's first horizontal orbital space launch from the UK did not go as planned.
"We know how much time, effort and energy must have been invested to deliver that launch attempt, and we wish them well for their next mission.”
Mr Larmour added: “The Orbex team is fully focused on introducing the UK to vertical orbital launches with the debut of our UK-built environmentally-friendly rocket, Prime.
"We will be launching from our own pad at Sutherland Spaceport in Scotland in the near future.”
Virgin Orbit said that by reaching space and achieving numerous significant first-time achievements, its launch attempt represented an important step forward.
Dan Hart, Virgin Orbit CEO, said: “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.
"The first-time nature of this mission added layers of complexity that our team professionally managed through; however, in the end a technical failure appears to have prevented us from delivering the final orbit.
"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.”
