Long Beach-based Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc. has plans to launch its first rocket from British soil and its first commercial launch from Western Europe.
The launch, which was announced June 28, is a joint mission between the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence and the U.S.’s National Reconnaissance Office.
The company’s rocket will fly out of Newquay Airport in Cornwall, England later this year.
Virgin Orbit will use the LauncherOne launch platform aboard Cosmic Girl, a modified Boeing 747 aircraft, to launch two satellites to low-Earth orbit.
The Prometheus 2 CubeSats will provide a test platform for monitoring radio signals including GPS and sophisticated imaging, expected to pave the way for a more collaborative and connected space communication system with our allies, according to the company.
The mission’s objective is to allow the defence ministry to better understand how the U.K. and international partners can work together to create a more capable and flexible launch system at a lower cost than could be reached alone, the release said.
The technology onboard the satellites is designed to identify new techniques and algorithms for operating satellites and data processing.
Virgin Orbit Chief Executive Dan Hart called the planned launch “a superb example” of growing U.K.-U.S. space cooperation.
“We believe the Cornwall mission will provide a demonstration of the flexibility and mobility of the Virgin Orbit LauncherOne platform,” Hart said in a statement. “We are honored to support the U.K. on this, the first orbital launch in history from British soil.”
Virgin Orbit’s first overseas flight will be the launcher’s sixth consecutive mission carrying commercial and government customers since it began operations in 2021, demonstrating its capability to launch from any 747 capable airfield globally, the company’s release said.
Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rockets are designed and manufactured in Long Beach and are air-launched from a modified 747 carrier aircraft that allows Virgin Orbit to operate from locations all over the world.
The launch service was acquired from Virgin Orbit National Systems, Virgin Orbit’s U.S. subsidiary, as the first task order on the reconnaissance office’s streamlined launch indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, according to the company’s release.
“We could not be more excited to support our National Security Space and U.K. mission partners in this incredible, historic launch,” Virgin Orbit National Systems President Mark Baird said in a statement. “We believe the ‘Anytime, Anywhere, Unwarned’ capability that we are driving to bring to the U.S. and our Allied partners is a game-changer, and we are all in to make this a resounding success.”
“We look forward to continuing to support the National Reconnaissance Office, the ministry of defence, and allied counties as they form closer partnerships, drive innovation, and expand collaboration in space,” added Hart in his statement.
