British Conglomerate Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit To Launch First Rocket From Cornwall

Virgin Cosmic Girl at launch of LauncherOne rocket. (photo: twitter @VOCosmicGirl)

JAKARTA – Sir Richard Branson's space company, Virgin Orbit, has announced plans for its first rocket launch from British soil, in Cornwall, this summer.

In a historic moment for UK space, Virgin Orbit has signed a deal with Cardiff-based company Space Forge to launch a satellite into orbit.

The satellite will be blasted into space on a rocket called LauncherOne, which will be launched from a jumbo jet from Spaceport Cornwall, part of Newquay Airport.

Over the past 14 months, LauncherOne has deployed payloads in space for Virgin Orbit customers, including NASA and the US Department of Defense.

"We at Virgin Orbit are thrilled to have been chosen to advance Space Forge on their space journey as we look forward to our inaugural Cornwall launch", said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart, quoted by Dailymail.

"Space Forge joins a growing community of space innovators advancing space technology for the betterment of our world", he added.

Learn more about the passion behind their push for more #sustainablespace programs from @Space_Forge CEO Josh Western @WesternJ_ pic.twitter.com/zgeYR9GE13

— Virgin Orbit (@VirginOrbit) March 9, 2022

“Their commitment to sustainability lays the foundation for future growth in an industry that we at Virgin Orbit are proud to be a part of", said Hart.

It is not clear when the Cornwall flight will take place. Until now, Virgin Orbit has not provided an exact schedule.

Virgin Orbit has carried out three successive orbital missions with LauncherOne in 2021 and 2022, the last of which was launched in January. All three took place from Mojave Air and Space Port, California.

From Cardiff to space via Cornwall. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🚀🛰️

Congratulations to @Space_Forge for securing a slot on the first launch from @SpaceCornwall with @VirginOrbit this summer. 👏

Read more 👉 https://t.co/hb4iFHtFa7#LaunchUK pic.twitter.com/y0wezzJ6dK

— UK Space Agency (@spacegovuk) March 9, 2022

LauncherOne's maiden flight in 2020, meanwhile, failed to reach space, due to an 'anomaly' resulting from the premature shutdown of its first stage engine.

The launch of Virgin Orbit involved Virgin Orbit's giant carrier, the modified Boeing 747, and named Cosmic Girl. Later LauncherOne, a two-stage orbital launch vehicle, was inserted into Cosmic Girl's belly.

Once Cosmic Girl was at a fairly high altitude, around 30,000 feet, LauncherOne was released. While at orbital altitude, LauncherOne deploys satellites in space.

With the upcoming launch, LauncherOne will use Space Forge's ForgeStar satellite, which it calls the 'space factory'.

ForgeStar is a reusable suitcase-sized vehicle capable of being in low Earth orbit (LEO) for up to six months before returning to Earth.

It will be used as a testing ground for research projects in microgravity, in areas such as medicine and advanced industrial applications.

This will allow Space Forge to 'take advantage of the environmental benefits of space', namely microgravity, vacuum, and temperature, to create products 'that would be impossible to manufacture on Earth'.

"We are delighted to be making British history with our first launch", said Joshua Western, CEO of Space Forge.

"We will demonstrate the use of space for good through reliable in-space manufacturing and return and it is brilliant that Virgin Orbit and Spaceport Cornwall share our ambition", he added.

'This is the start of a great collaboration and we are very excited to see where it goes,' said Western.

Last January's LauncherOne flight, successfully launched seven satellites to customers including the US Department of Defense and British company Spire.

Virgin Orbit also still has several LauncherOne flights planned from California in 2022, including one in the first quarter of this year carrying payloads for the US Space Force.