Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Virgin Orbit Mission Fails

Mojave, California-based Virgin Orbit reported on Monday that its first attempted launch of a payload from the United Kingdom "fell short of reaching its target orbit". The company, which launched the rocket from its customized 747, the Cosmic Girl, said that at some point after launching its rocket, the "system experienced an anomaly", "ending the mission prematurely". The launch had been the company's attempt to demonstrate that a space launch is possible from UK soil. Virgin Orbit said it will be investigating the failure, and hope to "return to orbit" as soon as a full investigation is complete.

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