Called Cosmic Girl, this modified Boeing 747 takes off from Spaceport Cornwall with a rocket under one wing. Spaceport Cornwall
The first orbital satellite launch from the UK is scheduled for tonight at Newquay’s Spaceport Cornwall. If successful, Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket, carrying a nine-satellite payload, would be dropped from a modified Boeing 747 plane to 35,000 feet off the south coast of Ireland, where it would proceed into low earth orbit and drop the cargo. To do.
The UK has the world’s second largest satellite building industry after the US, but relies on public and private launches from other countries such as NASA and SpaceX to get its products into orbit. Many hope tonight’s success marks the beginning of an era in which the UK can launch not only its own satellites, but those of other countries as well.
“It has come a long way to get here, with many international agreements and working with countries such as Ireland, Spain and Portugal that are involved in the management of their airspace. The British Space Agency (UKSA). There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes.”
The countdown to launch at Newquay was a frenetic few days, as the plane Cosmic Girl, with a rocket mounted under one wing, weathered the elements on the runway run by the Virgin Orbit team. pre-flight check. Last week, the setup passed a “wet dress” rehearsal and the entire launch procedure was performed with the exception of the ignition itself.
The team hopes the plane will be able to take off safely, even if the weather turns bad. “The Boeing 747 is a proven aircraft. It can take off in very difficult conditions and land in difficult conditions,” said Ian Annett, Deputy CEO, Program Delivery, UKSA. “Of course, having the rocket under the left wing means you have to be aware of that, but being able to fly above the weather for launch is also an advantage. [the rocket]”
Once the plane gets the green light to launch, it will take off between 9:40pm and 11:00pm GMT, heading for the Irish Sea for rocket drop about an hour later.
The LauncherOne rocket, which Virgin has already successfully launched four times from its Mojave Desert facility in California, will then begin its first stage burn. Traveling alone.
The rocket then drops the first stage and accelerates using the second stage, accelerating to 28,000 kilometers per hour in six minutes as it passes over Antarctica. An hour after deployment, he will reach an orbital altitude of about 500 kilometers over Australia, where he will deploy nine satellites.
The last rocket launch in California has given the Virgin Orbit team confidence that tonight’s attempt will go smoothly and the system will operate essentially the same, said Dan Hart, CEO of Virgin Orbit. said., Said new scientist At a pre-launch press conference. He says the only difference being in Cornwall instead of the US is “pasties and burgers.”
The satellites onboard LauncherOne include a test satellite for Welsh company Space Forge, which it hopes to use to manufacture materials in orbit, a small military communications satellite for the UK Ministry of Defense, and a US-UK Joint Military Cooperation satellite. Includes a pair of ionospheric monitors, maritime sensing. Satellites from the Scottish company AAC Clyde Space, his GPS tracker from the European Space Agency and an imaging satellite jointly launched by Oman and Poland.
Newquay may seem an unlikely satellite launch site, but it has a long runway formerly used by the Royal Air Force, easy access to the sea, and a relatively sparse civilian population. Combined with its population, it was the frontrunner when it was chosen by the UK government. Built in 2018 as Britain’s first spaceport.
There’s also excitement in the town for the launch itself, with hundreds of locals ferrying in from the town’s shuttle tonight to discuss what the spaceport could bring to the region, with funding from the European Union. After Brexit – in terms of jobs and opportunities, such as the integration facility opened last year with satellites to be launched onto rocket bodies.
The launch scheduled tonight in Cornwall may be the only one of the year, but the UK government hopes to eventually have a network of spaceports, including a vertical launch facility at Saxa Vord in the Shetland Islands. We are planning a rocket launch later this year. Year. In 10 years, Archer said, UKSA will have around 15 launches per year, making it more competitive with countries with an established space launch industry.
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