WASHINGTON — Nearly a year after the failed Virgin Orbit launch from England, United Kingdom government officials remain optimistic about the prospects for building up a launch industry in the country.
The U.K. Space Agency released a lessons learned report Dec. 14 on the “UK Pathfinder Launch,” the January 2023 launch by Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne from Spaceport Cornwall in southwestern England. The launch was billed as the first orbital launch from U.K. soil, but the payload of several smallsats failed to reach orbit when the rocket’s second stage malfunctioned.
“Although the satellites onboard were not placed into orbit due to a technical anomaly with the rocket’s second stage engine,” the agency stated in the report, “this historic event demonstrated the UK’s ability to launch, safely, legally and with the appropriate coordination across government.”
The report made several recommendations about the process of conducting launches from the country. That included streamlining the licensing process to make it easier for companies to demonstrate they have the financial and technical capabilities to carry out a launch, sharing information among the various government agencies involved in launches and improved coordination with other nations whose airspace and waters may be affected by launches.
The report concluded that many of these lessons were the inevitable result of the first-time application of new regulations and processes, although in at least one case the government put some of the blame on Virgin Orbit. It noted that “international engagement was complicated by over-optimistic delivery plans from Virgin Orbit, resulting in significant effort and good will being expended across [His Majesty’s Government] and with other nations to enable a launch window that lacked credibility.”
Government officials acknowledge the failed launch was a setback but remain optimistic about the launch industry in the country….
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