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Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

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TonyO
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Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by TonyO » Wed Oct 05, 2022 3:48 pm

Appreciate its not military, but it is a 747 carrying a missile so it is a little different.

Launch window opens from October 29, so I suspect the 747 and the rocket will arrive in Cornwall towards the end of the month.
Virgin Orbit, a leading responsive launch provider, announced today that its latest rocket has completed a full launch rehearsal and is now ready for flight. The window for the company’s next launch, planned to be the first orbital space launch from the U.K., will be determined by the launch permitting regulatory process.

This rehearsal marked the final major acceptance test of the rocket prior to mating to its carrier aircraft – an upcycled Boeing 747 dubbed “Cosmic Girl”– and beginning pre-launch operations. Meanwhile, integration of customer satellites into the rocket’s fairing is expected to begin this week in the newly inaugurated Space Systems Integration Facility (SSIF) at Spaceport Cornwall.

With its newest rocket to date, Virgin Orbit looks to build on an unblemished track record of successful operational orbital launches. To date, the company has delivered each of the thirty-three satellites it has carried precisely to its desired orbit. In doing so, Virgin Orbit’s air-launched system has illustrated the robustness of its system by proving its ability to fly through and above inclement weather, integrate rapid-call up payloads, and reach a broader range of orbits than would be possible from a traditional ground-launched system. Those proven capabilities are vital to the exciting, emerging markets in responsive and international launch.

The company’s most recent rocket completed its full wet dress rehearsal on October 2, three months after the successful launch of its Straight Up mission. This reduction of nearly half of the time required between the company’s previous missions, along with a significant decrease in the cost of manufacturing, continues the trend of the company’s rapid evolution into a higher operational cadence.

As an air-launched system, Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne can turn nearly any airport into a spaceport. This capability creates a new level of mobility for satellite launch, thereby enabling sovereign launch capability in new markets. The launch from the Cornwall spaceport will demonstrate Virgin Orbit’s ability to enable virtually any country to become a spacefaring nation.

Once manufactured, integrated, and tested, a LauncherOne rocket can be sent off to any of a variety of locations for final preparation and launch, responding to the needs of the commercial, civil, and national security space communities.

In addition to the rapidly approaching mission that will bring orbital launch to the United Kingdom for the first time, Virgin Orbit has announced collaborative efforts to bring its unique air launch system to the nations of Australia, Brazil, Japan, Poland, and the Republic of Korea.
You want the Aladeen news, or the Aladeen news?

Seahornet1
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by Seahornet1 » Thu Oct 06, 2022 6:43 am

TonyO wrote:
Wed Oct 05, 2022 3:48 pm
Appreciate its not military, but it is a 747 carrying a missile so it is a little different.
I know you're just trying to claim relevance (and yes, I think we're all interested enough to accept the topic-stretch... :P ), but the LauncherOne is most certainly NOT a missile!!! :Wow:

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TonyO
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by TonyO » Thu Oct 06, 2022 9:03 am

Seahornet1 wrote:
Thu Oct 06, 2022 6:43 am
TonyO wrote:
Wed Oct 05, 2022 3:48 pm
Appreciate its not military, but it is a 747 carrying a missile so it is a little different.
I know you're just trying to claim relevance (and yes, I think we're all interested enough to accept the topic-stretch... :P ), but the LauncherOne is most certainly NOT a missile!!! :Wow:
Its got a rocket motor and it isn't coming back... :P
You want the Aladeen news, or the Aladeen news?

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Ravendriver2008
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by Ravendriver2008 » Thu Oct 06, 2022 1:15 pm

However there is an RAF pilot assigned to flight crew since 2019

https://www.raf.mod.uk/news/articles/ra ... nce%202019.

Think the Mod will be involved in this venture in the years to come..

cheers

Doughnut
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by Doughnut » Thu Oct 06, 2022 7:40 pm

Expect this will involve some interesting crowd control at Newquay Airport.
I do wonder if the Cornwall Council decision not to renew the Air Museum's lease is in somehow related.
Difficult to restrict public parking if a crowd can gather at the museum site.

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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by StuBie » Thu Oct 06, 2022 8:24 pm

Ravendriver2008 wrote:
Thu Oct 06, 2022 1:15 pm
Think the Mod will be involved in this venture in the years to come..
Air Vice-Marshal Paul Godfrey of UK Space Command visited the Virgin Orbit facility back in August to see the preparation for this mission.

More from the Virgin Orbit Site :
LONG BEACH, Calif. — June 7, 2022 — Satellite launch company Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB) announces today that a joint mission between the United Kingdom’s Defense Science and Technology Laboratory and the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is expected to be lofted on the first space launch out of Spaceport Cornwall later this year.

The government agencies’ joint Coordinated Ionospheric Reconstruction CubeSat Experiment (CIRCE) is supported by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Space Test Program (STP), which is organized under the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC). CIRCE will utilize two 6U CubeSats flying in tandem formation to measure the ionosphere and radiation environment from multiple vantage points. The mission will support the two countries’ joint development of a wide range of civil and defense applications, including GPS, radar, communication systems, and sensing technology.

CIRCE will fly alongside other previously announced international commercial customers. In addition, the flight will feature the first Welsh-built satellite supplied by U.K. in-orbit manufacturing start up Space Forge, an earth observation satellite supplied through a joint project with Horizon Technologies and The Catapult – the United Kingdom’s space-tech accelerator, as well as the Kingdom of Oman’s first ever satellite.

Virgin Orbit’s first overseas flight is expected to be the launcher’s fifth consecutive mission carrying commercial and government customers since it began operations in 2021. Virgin Orbit has successfully launched eight previous STP satellites to orbit, demonstrating its ability to launch from any airport with a spaceport certificate.

“We are honored to host this joint mission between the U.S. and U.K. Governments on the launch from Cornwall,” said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart. “This demonstration, chosen to fly on the United Kingdom’s first space launch from its territory, exhibits the powerful value of collaboration between our two countries and their mutual commitment to delivering the full value of space access for all.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to work with our U.K. and U.S. mission partners to execute this mission, which would achieve milestones across multiple fronts,” said Mark Baird, Virgin Orbit National Systems’ President. “We look forward to continuing to accelerate the operationalization of our capabilities with this mission and providing space access from non-traditional locations—a fundamental facet of our mission to provide a broader space capability.”

“The NRL CIRCE Team is thrilled to be a part of this joint US/UK mission,” said Andrew Nicholas, a principal investigator with the NRL’s CIRCE team. “We look forward to a successful launch out of Spaceport Cornwall and are excited to continue work with our UK partners once the CIRCE science data starts flowing.”

“The CIRCE space weather experiment will join a host of small satellites on board Virgin Orbit’s first launch from the UK, and it’s exciting to see the wide range of commercial, academic and government partners who will share this moment with us,” said Dr. Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency. “We are on track to meet our ambition of becoming the first country to offer commercial launch services from Europe, catalysing investment into our growing space sector and creating hundreds of new jobs. I can’t wait to see Cosmic Girl take to the skies above Spaceport Cornwall later this year.”

“Defence science and technological activity in space has never been more important, whether it is in support of military operations or helping to combat climate change, defence innovation is at the forefront of this work,” said Air Vice-Marshall Paul Godfrey, Commander of UK Space Command. “After it enters orbit from Spaceport Cornwall, CIRCE will enhance our understanding of space weather and help us to keep critical satellites safe from the many hazards associated with operating in space.”

“The countdown to Virgin Orbit’s first launch from Spaceport Cornwall is on, and it’s excellent to have another pair of satellites confirmed for the mission,” said George Freeman, UK Minister for Science, Research & Innovation. “This is a strong demonstration of the close ties between the U.K. and U.S. as we pioneer new and innovative satellite technologies and build global interest in Britain’s emerging launch capabilities.”

“It’s an honour that UK and US partnerships are to be launched from Cornwall and we are proud to support the facilitation of these international milestones,” said Melissa Thorpe, Head of Spaceport Cornwall. “The mission aligns with Spaceport Cornwall’s delivery of ‘space for good,’ by bringing together partners from across the planet in a shared mission to support space-to-planet communications and applications to benefit humanity.”
https://virginorbit.com/the-latest/uk-a ... gin-orbit/

Stu
BECAUSE TYPING IN LOWER CASE WOULD BE EASY.............

65thAgressor
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by 65thAgressor » Thu Oct 06, 2022 10:00 pm

:S Theres a UK space command ? Blimey they must be busy.

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TomG
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by TomG » Fri Oct 07, 2022 8:42 am

65thAgressor wrote:
Thu Oct 06, 2022 10:00 pm
:S Theres a UK space command ? Blimey they must be busy.
Formed 1st April 2021.

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StuBie
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by StuBie » Sat Oct 08, 2022 9:32 am

A case study of the mission published on the GOV.UK site a couple of days ago.

https://www.gov.uk/government/case-stud ... rom-the-uk

Looking at a couple of stories on the web it sounds like the only holdup at the moment is our government granting the launch licence :roll: .......

Stu
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by StuBie » Tue Oct 11, 2022 5:24 am

Cosmic Girl repositioned from Mojave to Fort Lauderdale on Sunday in preparation for the trip across the pond:

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N744VG

Stu
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TonyO
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by TonyO » Tue Oct 11, 2022 10:17 am

OBT01, the Cosmic Girl carrier 747 is flightplanned into Newquay Airport today, due to arrive 1817L.
You want the Aladeen news, or the Aladeen news?

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zero_gravity
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by zero_gravity » Tue Oct 11, 2022 11:57 am

Cosmic Girl checking in on the Atlantic tracks

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zero_gravity
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by zero_gravity » Tue Oct 11, 2022 5:08 pm

ORBIT01 now in SW approaches having skirted S Ireland , possibly due to dips issues

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StuBie
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by StuBie » Wed Oct 12, 2022 6:16 pm

The first of the company’s hardware will begin its transport to Cornwall, U.K. on Sunday October 9th, due to arrive at Spaceport Cornwall on Tuesday October 11th with the GSE and rocket quickly following later in the week.
Quote taken from a recent press release from Virgin Orbit here: https://virginorbit.com/the-latest/virg ... nch-debut/

Any ideas on what transport is expected to deliver the mission kit?

Stu
BECAUSE TYPING IN LOWER CASE WOULD BE EASY.............

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zero_gravity
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by zero_gravity » Wed Oct 12, 2022 7:44 pm

Any ideas on what transport is expected to deliver the mission kit?
National Airlines ? ..... they should be geared up to carry
the payload into Newquay.

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TonyO
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by TonyO » Wed Oct 12, 2022 8:31 pm

Rumour was an RAF C-17 to carry the rocket, but time will tell in the next few days.
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Ashley H
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by Ashley H » Thu Oct 13, 2022 9:27 am

I have seen pictures on facebook this morning of C-17 ZZ174 being loaded with the rocket at March AFB.

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zero_gravity
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by zero_gravity » Thu Oct 13, 2022 3:48 pm

Presently just north of Los Alamos.

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StuBie
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by StuBie » Thu Oct 13, 2022 7:27 pm

Landed at Pease Air National Guard Base.
BECAUSE TYPING IN LOWER CASE WOULD BE EASY.............

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CHETK
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Re: Upcoming UK Orbital Launch

Post by CHETK » Fri Oct 14, 2022 1:33 pm

OBT1 - N744VG - Currently Inbound Boscome Down??
Left Newquay at 13:55


EDIT: Touch and go, and now back in the climb

Looks to be returning to Newquay fl280
Last edited by CHETK on Fri Oct 14, 2022 1:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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