The aircraft successfully released the LauncherOne rocket after departing from Cornwall Airport Newquay and the first stage of the rocket’s engine performed as expected and separated correctly, followed by the ignition of the upper stage.
However, Virgin Orbit revealed that later in the mission, at an altitude of approximately 111 miles (180km), the upper stage experienced an “anomaly”. This problem prematurely stopped the first burn of the upper stage, ending the mission. The rocket’s components and payload then fell back to Earth without ever achieving orbit.
LauncherOne was carrying satellites, both commercial and government-owned from seven customers.
Virgin Orbit has initiated a formal investigation into the cause of the failure to be led by Jim Sponnick (co-investigator), who was instrumental in the development and operations of the Atlas II, III and V launch systems and operations of the Delta II and IV rockets. Working alongside him on the investigation is Chad Foerster (principal investigator), Virgin Orbit’s chief engineer and vice president of technology development.
The UK’s Space Accident Investigation Authority (SAIA), which is run by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), and America’s Federal Aviation …
