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.
Democratic candidates were asked about the climate crisis during the first presidential primary debates on Wednesday and Thursday in Miami, a city that is currently experiencing its hottest week in more than three decades.
The sophisticated rocket sent a payload that included 24 satellites, a new, solar-powered space sail, and the ashes of 152 people, into space with its side boosters successfully returning to Earth unscathed.
That next step for meat alternatives will apparently include fish as companies like Wild Type, BlueNalu, and Finless Foods wager that, in the age of plant-based burgers, there’s room for seafood grown in the lab.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, June 19, 2019.
Elon Musk may be going to Vegas. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has recommended that The Boring Company be chosen to construct a "people mover" below the expanding convention center.
Cannabis, hemp, reefer, marijuana, dope, pot, grass ー no matter what term you choose, they all refer to the same plant: cannabis sativa. It’s a common misconception that cannabis sativa exclusively means that particular strain of weed that makes you creative and focused (as opposed to indica, which promotes relaxation)ー but it’s actually the scientific name of the single plant that yields marijuana, CBD, and hemp, among other products.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019.
Canopy Growth CEO Bruce Linton won't guarantee investors dividends. What he will promise is a stake in global cannabis domination. "If people want a dividend, we are probably not the right stock. If they want some entity aimed at dominating a global opportunity that started in Canada, we are probably your best bet," Linton told Cheddar on Friday, one day after the company reported a massive spike in third-quarter revenue.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Feb, 15, 2019.
It's a big week in cannabis earnings ー Aurora Cannabis reported Monday and Canopy Growth will report Thursday ー but Paul Rosen, CEO of cannabis private equity firm Tidal Royalty, said he's noticing a concerning trend."All the companies are facing gross margin compression because there are excise taxes, there's a massive marketing spend as we go to recreational cannabis, and there's also increased packaging costs. So I think you're going to see a trend line here, which is revenue and capacity going up, but gross margin is going down," Rosen told Cheddar Wednesday.
