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Updated at 7:20 p.m. EST with post-launch commentary from Virgin Orbit.
COVINGTON, Louisiana – Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket reached orbit on its second flight on January 17, demonstrating the performance of the aerial launch system after years of development.
The company’s Boeing 747 plane, called Cosmic Girl, took off from Mojave Air and Space Port in California at 1:38 p.m. EST with the LauncherOne rocket attached. The plane flew over the Pacific just off the southern coast of California and dropped the rocket at around 2:39 p.m. EST.
The rocket ignited its NewtonThree first-stage engine for three minutes, followed by stage separation and ignition of the NewtonFour engine in the second-stage rocket for nearly six minutes. After a 46-minute climb, the rocket re-ignited the NewtonFour for a five-second burn, followed by a payload deployment to an orbit of about 500 kilometers, although Virgin Orbit took over an hour to confirm. these last steps.
“A new gateway to space has just opened,” said Dan Hart, president and CEO of Virgin Orbit, in a post-launch statement, praising his company’s “laser focus” on the program despite the challenges. techniques and the current pandemic. “This effort paid off today with a beautifully executed mission, and we couldn’t be happier.”
“Virgin Orbit has achieved something that many thought was impossible,” said Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, in the statement. “This magnificent flight is the culmination of many years of hard work and will also launch a whole new generation of innovators on the path to orbit.”
The launch was the cornerstone of a development program that dates back to July 2012, when Virgin Galactic announced plans to develop a small launch vehicle to complement its SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle. LauncherOne was originally scheduled to use the same WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft as SpaceShipTwo, but the company later decided to acquire a Boeing 747 for use as a carrier aircraft. Virgin Galactic transformed Project LauncherOne into a separate company, Virgin Orbit, in 2017.
The client for the Launch Demo 2 mission was NASA under a contract awarded in 2015 as part of its Venture Class Launch Services program to support emerging developers of small launchers. The mission, called ELaNa 20 by NASA, carried 10 cubesats from eight universities and one NASA center. The spacecraft is designed to perform a range of science and technology demonstration missions.
Despite the flying payloads, Virgin Orbit stressed before launch that the main purpose of the flight was to test the vehicle. “It’s important to note that this is a test launch,” said Dan Hart, President and CEO of Virgin Orbit, in an advance phone call with reporters. “Any early launch of a launch system carries some risk.”
“We will be delighted to get the data and see the performance of the first and second stages as they progress. We are also aware that there is a risk whether we will reach final orbit, ”he added. “We are working hard and looking at all the details to make sure we have the best possible shot to get into orbit.”
Virgin Orbit’s first LauncherOne flight, in May 2020, failed seconds after the rocket’s NewtonThree engine was ignited. An investigation revealed that a liquid oxygen supply line had ruptured, causing the engine to stop.
Hart said in the pre-launch appeal that the company had brought in “some of the best experts in the industry,” including former chief engineers from Atlas and Delta launchers, for an independent investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration, NASA and the US Air Force monitored the investigation, with support from The Aerospace Corporation.
After identifying the cause, Virgin Orbit performed a new structural analysis of that part of the vehicle and the components modified to resolve the issue, followed by vibration table testing and static engine fire tests. The company also conducted a similar review of NewtonFour, the second-stage engine that didn’t have a chance to fire on the previous launch attempt. “There were a few minor mods we made there as well,” Hart said.
During the pre-launch briefing, Virgin Orbit did not disclose plans for its next launch, but Hart said the company was in the process of assembling the next LauncherOne rocket, which he described as “just weeks away. to be ready ”. Several other vehicles in the early stages of assembly. In the post-launch statement, the company confirmed that it was heading into commercial operations with its next launch, but did not disclose a timeline or client for that next launch.
Hart said the company sees a diverse market for LauncherOne, with growing interest from U.S. national security customers. “The market has changed a bit, where the measures taken by the government are opening up new opportunities there, and we are very focused on that,” he said. This is in addition to demand from NASA and space agencies in other countries and from developers of constellations of dozens of small satellites.
“We’re really positioned to accelerate in a steady launch cadence,” Hart said.
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