An attempt to launch the first rocket into space from British soil ended in failure overnight from Monday to Tuesday after an “anomaly” prevented its launch into orbit, reports AFP.

“Looks like we have an anomaly that is preventing us from going into orbit,” Virgin Orbit, which organized the mission, wrote on Twitter.

Virgin Orbit’s Boeing 747, carrying a 21-meter rocket, lifted off at 22:02 GMT on Monday evening from Cornwall Spaceport, a consortium that includes Virgin Orbit and the UK Space Agency, at Newquay Airport in southwest England. The aim of the mission was to launch nine satellites into space, which would be a first for the UK.

The rocket separated from the aircraft and its engines ignited at an altitude of 10.67 km over the Atlantic Ocean, south of Ireland, at approximately 23:15 GMT, but the resulting anomaly prevented it from entering orbit.

Hundreds of people witnessed the launch of the mission called “Start Me Up” to the theme of the Rolling Stones hit, organized by British billionaire Richard Branson’s company Virgin Orbit, which specializes in space launches of small satellites.

If he was successful, Great Britain would become the ninth country in the world capable of putting satellites into orbit.

“Joining this exclusive club of launch countries is very important because it gives us our own access to space, this sovereign access to space that we haven’t had in the UK before,” Melissa told the BBC ahead of the launches. Thorpe, director of Spaceport Cornwall. She reminded that Europe lost access to the Russian Soyuz launch vehicle after the invasion of Ukraine.

The 21-meter LauncherOne rocket was attached under the wing of a modified Boeing 747, which was named “Cosmic Girl”. Once the desired altitude was reached, the plane fired a rocket, which then fired its own engine to propel itself. The aircraft then returned to Cornwall Spaceport.

Launching a rocket from an airplane is easier than vertical takeoff because, in theory, a simple landing strip is sufficient instead of an expensive space launch pad.

Virgin Orbit, which provides a fast and customized space launch service for satellites weighing 300 to 500 kg, has previously launched other aircraft-launched rockets.

Founded in 2017 by Richard Branson, the company first managed to send a rocket into space from the California desert in January 2021 using this method using a Boeing 747.

The British launch was supposed to put nine satellites into orbit with various purposes, “from observing the Earth and controlling illegal fishing to creating satellites and products for their manufacture in space,” explained Melissa Thorpe.

Until now, British satellites have been launched into space from abroad, but Britain wants to support its aerospace industry after its role in European projects was called into question by Brexit. In addition to the spaceport in Cornwall, the United Kingdom plans to open a space base in Sutherland in the north of Scotland and another one on one of the Shetland Islands. Launches from both bases are planned for the coming months, according to a statement from the Scottish government in early January.

(source: Agerpres)