The primary space launch from the UK is as soon as once more delayed.
Virgin Orbit, which deliberate to launch satellites in Cornwall aboard its modified 747 provider plane as quickly as Dec. 14, pushed again the date a number of weeks on Thursday (Dec. 8) as a consequence of licensing points surrounding the launch, media studies indicated.
“With licenses nonetheless excellent for the launch itself and for the satellites inside the payload, extra technical work [is] wanted to ascertain system well being and readiness,” CEO Dan Hart mentioned in a press release cited by the BBC (opens in new tab). (Virgin Orbit has not commented but on social media, however the licensing subject was confirmed by quite a few different media shops on Thursday.)
Citing a “very restricted obtainable launch window of solely two days,” Hart mentioned the brand new launch window can be “for the approaching weeks,” leaving it unclear whether or not the corporate plans a 2022 launch in spite of everything. The vacation shutdown interval in the UK might make it troublesome to acquire a license for a late December launch.
In photos: Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket for satellite missions
The U.Okay. civil space authority, nevertheless, famous that regulation “just isn’t a barrier” to the launch and that Virgin Orbit’s technical points “by no means relate to the timing of when a license can be issued.”
“Efficient licensing varieties an integral a part of UK space exercise,” the statement added (opens in new tab). “Spaceport Cornwall’s license already permits Virgin Orbit to undertake its testing program previous to launch. Our devoted staff has been working intently with all companions to evaluate functions and subject the remaining licenses inside the timelines we set on the outset.”
Spaceport Cornwall, a transformed airport within the southwest of England, was itself granted a license on Nov. 16 after the airport confirmed it may adjust to “statutory necessities on security, safety, setting and different points,” the U.Okay. Area Company mentioned in a statement (opens in new tab) on the time.
Virgin Orbit’s first U.Okay. mission, named “Start Me Up” after a tune by the British band the Rolling Stones, will see a number of small satellites soar to space, together with an on-orbit manufacturing experiment and a U.K. military satellite.
The corporate’s 747 airplane, known as Cosmic Woman, will carry these satellites aloft utilizing the LauncherOne rocket. The booster flies beneath the wing of Cosmic Woman earlier than being launched within the higher environment, at which level the two-stage LauncherOne will ignite and carry the eight satellites into space.
It isn’t the primary time the mission has been delayed; Virgin Orbit, whereas awaiting the licensing of Spaceport Cornwall within the fall, lowered its launch forecast for the following quarter consequently.
Whereas Virgin Orbit has but to fly in the UK, they’ve already flown four successful flights from the Mojave Air and Area Port in southern California, collectively sending dozens of small satellites into low Earth orbit for a number of clients.
The U.Okay. market is crowded with startups all vying for the first-ever launch within the area, however all the opposite corporations are utilizing a variety of vertical rocket types which are anticipated to launch in 2023 on the earliest.
Elizabeth Howell is the co-author of “Why Am I Taller (opens in new tab)?” (ECW Press, 2022; with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a e book about space drugs. Observe her on Twitter @howellspace (opens in new tab). Observe us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or Facebook (opens in new tab).
