Virgin Atlantic Cosmic Girl, a repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft carrying a rocket, is parked at Spaceport Cornwall, at Cornwall Airport in Newquay, England, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)
LONDON (AP) — British officials and space scientists said Tuesday they were disappointed but not deterred after the first attempt to launch satellites into orbit from the U.K. ended in failure.
U.S.-based Virgin Orbit attempted its first international launch late Monday, using a modified jumbo jet to carry one if its rockets from Cornwall in southwestern England over the Atlantic Ocean.
The plane released the rocket, carrying nine small satellites for a mix of civilian and domestic uses. But about two hours after the plane took off, the company reported “an anomaly that has prevented us from reaching orbit.”
The plane, piloted by a Royal Air Force pilot, returned to Cornwall. The rocket and satellites were destroyed.
“We’re feeling awful, to be honest – I’m not going to lie,” Melissa Thorpe, head of Spaceport Cornwall. said.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve been knocked, this is the biggest definitely, but I feel OK and we’ll get up and we’ll go again,” she said.
Virgin Orbit, which was founded by British transport and telecommunications tycoon Richard Branson, previously completed four similar launches from California.
Hundreds of people gathered for the Cornwall launch had cheered when a repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft, named Cosmic Girl, took off late Monday. Around an hour into the flight, the plane released the rocket at around 35,000 feet (around 10,000 meters) over the Atlantic Ocean to the south of Ireland.
Virgin Orbit chief executive Dan Hart said “a technical failure appears to have prevented us from delivering the final orbit.”
“While we are very proud of the many things that we have successfully achieved as part of this mission, we are mindful that we failed to provide our customers with the launch service they deserve,” he said.
The mission was a collaboration between the U.K. Space Agency, the Royal Air Force, Virgin Orbit and Cornwall Council.
Britain hopes to become a major player in making and launching satellites, and is building a spaceport in the Shetland Islands north of Scotland as well as the one in Cornwall.
U.K. Business Secretary Grant Shapps said Monday’s launch was “a big moment” despite its failure.
“Space is difficult,” Shapps told Sky News.
“It didn’t work. I’ve no doubt that they’ll pick themselves up, dust themselves off and they’ll go again once they find out what exactly went wrong with it,” he said.
Coastal cities around the world are grappling with sea level rise. And building a seawall? Not so fast. While a sea wall can be effective in certain scenarios, it can make the effects of sea level rise worse. That’s why municipalities are looking into creative alternatives.
Carlo and Baker cover the big races to watch on this off-cycle Election Day, the concrete pledges starting to come out of COP26, Jeffrey Epstein keeps causing CEOs to lose their jobs, and Ryan Murphy's TV hit that wasn't.
The UN climate change conference kicked off on Sunday with about 120 world leaders and delegates gathering in Glasgow, Scotland this week, as experts continue to warn about the harms of heightened emissions and the effects on climate change. The topic of ESG investing is expected to be a top priority at the summit. Jefferies global head of ESG and sustainability research Aniket Shah joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Christian Kroll, CEO of Ecosia, joins 'Fast Forward' to discuss how Ecosia uses its ad revenue to plant trees, and what the company plans to do after launching a $405 million venture capital fund focused on combating the climate crisis.
Dr. Ashley McClure, co-founder of Climate Health Now, joins 'Fast Forward' to discuss why the climate crisis is the greatest threat to humanity and health, and measures we need to take to reverse course.
Clinical research company Medable has secured $304 million in Series D funding, marking its fourth round since 2020, giving the firm a valuation of just over $2 billion. Dr. Michelle Longmire, CEO and Co-founder, Medable joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the future of the company.
The National Hurricane Center announced that the list of storm names in 2021 has been exhausted as one of the most active hurricane seasons in history continues to stir in the Atlantic Ocean. Subtropical Storm Wanda marks only the third time in history (last year being the second) that all the names were used in a single season.
Astronomers at NASA have located what could be the first exoplanet not only outside of the solar system but outside of our own galaxy in the Messier 51 (or the Whirlpool Galaxy), 28 million light-years away. It could take astronomers up to 70 years to see if the planet passes in front of its star to verify the find.
Even with pandemic lockdowns, greenhouse gas levels reached new highs in 2020, according to the World Meteorological Organization. This report comes just a week ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as Cop26. Shannon Osaka, climate policy and solutions reporter at Grist, joined Cheddar's Between Bells to discuss.
Oatly Chief Sustainability Officer, Ashley Allen joins Cheddar News to talk about food waste and hows its been left off the table in the upcoming COP26 agenda. Ashley will be on the ground at COP26 and advocating for this conversation to get the attention it deserves.
