Plane prepares to take off for first UK satellite launch

PTI, Jan 9, 2023, 7:34 PM IST

Image source: Twitter / @VirginOrbit

London: Engineers are making final preparations for the first satellite launch from the UK later Monday, when a repurposed passenger plane is expected to release a Virgin Orbit rocket carrying several small satellites into space.

If successful, the mission will mark the first orbital space launch from UK soil and the first international launch for Virgin Orbit, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson.

The company, which is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange, has already completed four similar launches from the US.

The latest mission will see a repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft carrying a rocket take off from Cornwall in southwestern England from around 10.15 pm on Monday.

Around an hour into the flight, the plane will release the rocket at 35,000 feet (around 10,000 metres) over the Atlantic Ocean to the south of Ireland.

The rocket will then take several small satellites for mixed civil and defence use into orbit, while the plane returns to Cornwall.

T minus 1 day until the start of the UK’s first orbital launch window! 🚀

Our vehicles are looking good & our team is ready to rock(et) & roll! We’re continuing to watch weather & system health. Tune into our livestream tomorrow at 1:15pm PT/9:15pm GMT: https://t.co/t2DlzQaiyo pic.twitter.com/2jiiZhxrHF

— Virgin Orbit (@VirginOrbit) January 9, 2023

It will be the first commercial satellite launch from Western Europe, Virgin Orbit said. In the past, satellites produced in the UK had to be sent to spaceports in other countries to make their journey into space.

Ian Annett, deputy chief executive at the UK Space Agency, described his “immense excitement” Sunday and said it was “a new era for space in the UK”.

The mission is a collaboration between the UK Space Agency, the Royal Air Force, Virgin Orbit and Cornwall Council.

The launch was originally planned for late last year, but it was postponed because of technical and regulatory issues. (AP)