Historic UK rocket mission fails to reach orbit due to 'anomaly'
Funded by the UK Space Agency, the mission was expected to meet a key ambition of the country's National Space Strategy -- first-ever orbital launch from its soil. It would have also been the first orbital launch from anywhere in western Europe.
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FollowUnited Kingdom's attempt to launch the first rocket into orbit from its soil ended in failure after the rocket with seven satellites detached from the Virgin Orbit Boeing 747 -- nicknamed Cosmic Girl -- over the Atlantic Ocean but could not reach the orbit.
According to British scientists, the rocket reported an anomaly as it neared the orbit. The target orbit for this mission was approximately 555km/SSO.
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Funded by the UK Space Agency, the mission was expected to meet a key ambition of the country's National Space Strategy -- first-ever orbital launch from its soil. It would have also been the first orbital launch from anywhere in western Europe.
The seven payloads that were to be deployed into Low Earth Orbit included the first-ever Earth Observation satellite of the Sultanate of Oman; the first satellite from Wales built by Space Forge, a maritime monitoring payload built by Horizon Technologies and a Satellite Applications Catapult, as well satellites from UK's Ministry of Defence, UK's Defense Science and Technology Laboratory and the United States National Reconnaissance Office.
'Cosmic Girl' successfully launched from the spaceport at Cornwall Airport Newquay around 10 PM local time on Monday and returned in the evening. It ferried the LauncherOne rocket under its wing to a launch range over the Atlantic. The rocket was released at an altitude of 35,000 feet for onward flight into space. The rocket's mission was to deploy satellites into the Earth orbit. However, an "anomaly" failed to guide the rocket to its designated orbit.
The failure of the mission, named 'Start Me Up' after the hit Rolling Stones number, saw Virgin Orbit’s stock plunge 24 per cent.
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