Page 1 - Aerotech News and Review, July 9, 2021

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Virgin Orbit mission goes off without a hitch

MOJAVE, Calif.—Virgin Orbit confirmed
it successfully deployed into orbit all 7 cus-
tomer satellites onboard its LauncherOne
rocket during the June 30, 2021, Tubular
Bells: Part One mission.
Virgin Orbit’s 747 carrier aircraft Cosmic
Girl took off from Mojave Air and Space Port
at approximately 6:50 a.m., PDT, and flew out
to a launch site over the Pacific Ocean, about
50 miles south of the Channel Islands.
After a smooth release from the aircraft,
the LauncherOne rocket ignited and propelled
itself towards space, ultimately deploying its
payload into a precise target orbit approxi-
mately 500 km above the Earth’s surface.
LauncherOne carried seven satellites to
Low Earth Orbit for this rideshare mission:
four R&D CubeSats for the U.S. Department
of Defense, two optical satellites for SatRevo-
lution, and the Royal Netherlands Air Force’s
first military satellite.
“Two successful launches and two groups
of happy customers in five months really
speaks to our team’s abilities. They’re mak-
ing air launch look easy — and I can tell you
from experience that it’s not,” said Virgin
Orbit CEO Dan Hart. “We can now proudly
say that 17 satellites launched by our system
are up in space exactly in their target orbits.
We’re looking forward to growing that num-
ber tremendously as we push to ramp up our
flight cadence in the coming months.”
“What an unforgettable experience to be
here in Mojave to watch the Virgin Orbit team
complete another perfect mission to space.
Everything went exactly to plan and the fact
that we dropped the rocket from our 747 at Virgin Orbit photographs
7:47 a.m., PDT, made it particularly fitting. Top: Virgin Orbit’s carrier aircraft Cosmic Girl
Perfect timing!” said Virgin Orbit founder takes off from Mojave Air and Space Port
Richard Branson. “We had customers here in California with LauncherOne underwing
for the company’s Tubular Bells: Part One
from three countries and I congratulate all of mission. June 30, 2021. Above: Virgin Orbit’s
them and all of our wonderful team.” LauncherOne rocket undergoes a cryo load
Tubular Bells: Part One is named after the test prior to the company’s Tubular Bells, Part
first track on Mike Oldfield’s 1973 record Tu- One mission. Left: A screenshot of the Virgin
bular Bells, the album that inspired Richard Orbit livestream from the June 30 launch.
Branson to create Virgin Records and the first
ever released by the label.

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