Virgin Orbit's "Cosmic Girl," a retrofitted Boeing 747 plane, is scheduled for a horizontal launch into orbit Monday night from the United Kingdom's Spaceport Cornwall. The mission, dubbed Start Me Up, is the first orbital launch in both the UK and Western Europe. It's also the culmination of a yearslong effort by the country to enter the modern space race.
Cosmic Girl has a payload of nine small satellites from several customers, including the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, the U.K. Ministry of Defence, and the government of Oman.
Don't expect the same fanfare as some recent space launches. Horizontal space launches are generally more seamless. Cosmic Girl will take off like a normal plane, fly to around 35,000 feet above the southern coast of Ireland, and then deploy the LauncherOne rocket.
The LauncherOne is a so-called air-launched rocket. Launched from a carrier aircraft at high altitudes, the rocket is able to deliver small payloads of satellites into orbit. Virgin Orbit developed the concept over years, and started putting it into use in 2021.
Ian Annett, deputy chief executive at the UK Space Agency, has heralded the launch as an "iconic moment" — though it's not technically England's first. The agency completed a mission, called the Black Arrow, back in 1971, but the launch actually took place in Australia.
This is Virgin Orbit's sixth launch. The private space company had initially planned six for 2022, but lowered its forecast amid financial troubles. The company recently announced plans to raise $25 million to refill its shrinking cash reserves.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, January 27, 2020.
Health officials say woman returned from a trip to China on Jan. 13 without showing any signs of illness, but a few days later she called her doctor to report feeling sick.
Dr. Didier Houssin, emergency committee chair, told journalists on Thursday that it was too early to declare a public health emergency due to a "limited" number of cases and the ongoing containment efforts by Chinese authorities.
Steven Mnuchin says Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is in no position to give economic advice until she goes to college and comes out with an economics degree.
Chinese authorities Thursday moved to lock down three cities with a combined population of more than 18 million people in an unprecedented effort to contain the deadly new virus that has sickened hundreds and spread to other parts of the world during the busy Lunar New Year travel period.
The Special Initiative for Offshore Wind, a research and advocacy organization at the University of Delaware, and the American Wind Energy Association, a trade group, hope to solicit comments and concerns from potential critics.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, January 23, 2020.
Chinese health authorities urged people in the city of Wuhan to avoid crowds and public gatherings, after warning that a new viral illness that has infected more than 400 people and killed at least 17 could spread further.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, January 22, 2020.
A U.S. citizen who recently returned from a trip to central China has been diagnosed with the new virus.
