Author Topic: FAILURE : Virgin Orbit LauncherOne : Orbital Test Flight UPDATES : May 25 2020  (Read 80929 times)

Online gongora

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Tweet from Jeff Foust
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The FAA has issued a launch license to Virgin Orbit for its first LauncherOne mission: http://bit.ly/2yXXMfs
« Last Edit: 05/26/2020 06:46 pm by zubenelgenubi »

Offline deruch

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Re: Virgin Orbit LauncherOne : Orbital Test Flight
« Reply #1 on: 06/29/2018 10:39 pm »
Seems an odd use of language that the payload is listed as: Mass Simulator with CubeSat.  As opposed to "mass simulator and cubesat."  Hmm.

I also note that on the page following that screenshot'd by gongora, there is a list of the AFSS (Autonomous Flight Safety System) testing Virgin must complete and demonstrate prior to the launch:
Quote
No less than one week prior to flight, VO must proivde the FAA with the following for review and acceptance:
(a)    Valve Acceptance Test Reports
(b)    Flght Computer Qualification Test Report
(c)    Flight Computer Acceptance Test Report
(d)    End-to-End Test Plan and Procedures
Shouldn't reality posts be in "Advanced concepts"?  --Nomadd

Online gongora

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Re: Virgin Orbit LauncherOne : Orbital Test Flight
« Reply #2 on: 09/24/2018 10:06 pm »
1657-EX-ST-2018
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Virgin Orbit is designing a satellite launch vehicle that will be air launched from a modified 747 airplane. STA License is requested to operate an S-Band Transmitter located on Launcher One for the upcoming first launch. 747 will take-off from Mojave Air and Space Port in California with Launcher One in captive carry. Launcher One will be dropped and launched in the Western Sea Range restricted airspace off Point Mugu, California. Launch license to be provided by FAA-Commercial Space Transportation Office. Captive carry flight and orbital trajectory details have been provided to NTIA.

NET date is Nov. 17

Offline jongoff

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Seems an odd use of language that the payload is listed as: Mass Simulator with CubeSat.  As opposed to "mass simulator and cubesat."  Hmm.

I'm not positive, but I think I know who is building the cubesat in question...

Offline Comga

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Tweet from Jeff Foust
Quote
The FAA has issued a launch license to Virgin Orbit for its first LauncherOne mission: http://bit.ly/2yXXMfs

"launch azimuth of 163 degrees"?
Isn't that almost straight "backwards" against the rotation of the Earth?
Why make achieving orbit so difficult?
« Last Edit: 09/26/2018 05:50 am by Comga »
What kind of wastrels would dump a perfectly good booster in the ocean after just one use?

Offline envy887

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Tweet from Jeff Foust
Quote
The FAA has issued a launch license to Virgin Orbit for its first LauncherOne mission: http://bit.ly/2yXXMfs

"launch azimuth of 163 degrees"?
Isn't that almost straight "backwards" against the rotation of the Earth?
Why make achieving orbit so difficult?

No, backwards would be 270 degrees (i.e. due west). 163 degrees is south-southeast.

Offline jongoff

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Tweet from Jeff Foust
Quote
The FAA has issued a launch license to Virgin Orbit for its first LauncherOne mission: http://bit.ly/2yXXMfs

"launch azimuth of 163 degrees"?
Isn't that almost straight "backwards" against the rotation of the Earth?
Why make achieving orbit so difficult?

No, backwards would be 270 degrees (i.e. due west). 163 degrees is south-southeast.

Ah, so probably roughly parallel to the coast?

Offline Comga

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Tweet from Jeff Foust
Quote
The FAA has issued a launch license to Virgin Orbit for its first LauncherOne mission: http://bit.ly/2yXXMfs

"launch azimuth of 163 degrees"?
Isn't that almost straight "backwards" against the rotation of the Earth?
Why make achieving orbit so difficult?

No, backwards would be 270 degrees (i.e. due west). 163 degrees is south-southeast.

Ah, so probably roughly parallel to the coast?

Yeah, it's nowhere near "backwards". (slaps forehead)

At what azimuth do sun synchronous orbits launch from Vandenberg?
Isn't it >180 degrees, south-southwest?

Someone here knows the real reason.  I just hope said person can and will post it.
What kind of wastrels would dump a perfectly good booster in the ocean after just one use?

Online ZachS09

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Typically, SSO launches from Vandenberg follow down an azimuth between 190 and 199 degrees.
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Offline Hog

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Polar orbits,  similar to what West Coast Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6) Vandenberg Space Shuttle launches were to be.

"Launches from Vandenberg have an allowable launch path suitable for polar insertions south, southwest and southeast. The launch limits at Vandenberg are 201 and 158 degrees. At a 201-degree launch azimuth, the spacecraft would be orbiting at a 104-degree inclination. Zero degrees would be due north of the launch site, and the orbital trajectory would be within 14 degrees east or west of the north-south pole meridian. At a launch azimuth of 158 degrees, the spacecraft would be orbiting at a 70-degree inclination, and the trajectory would be within 20 degrees east or west of the polar meridian. Like KSC, Vandenberg has allowable launch azimuths that do not pass over habitable areas or involve safety, abort, separation and political considerations."
https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/shutref/sts/launch.html

An interesting blurb concerning payload
"Attempting to launch and place a spacecraft in polar orbit from KSC to avoid habitable land mass would be uneconomical because the Shuttle's payload would be reduced severely-down to approximately 17,000 pounds. A northerly launch into polar orbit of 8 to 20 degrees azimuth would necessitate a path over a land mass; and most safety, abort, and political constraints would have to be waived. This prohibits polar orbit launches from the KSC."

Pic 1) Diagram illuminating Inclination and Azimuth
Paul

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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« Last Edit: 11/27/2018 01:56 pm by FutureSpaceTourist »

Offline high road

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So now NET January?

As I see it, 2018 is still the year when dedicated launch vehicles come to the fore. But only one of them is already launching.

There seems to be a word missing in that second tweet. Month? Quarter? Half?
« Last Edit: 11/27/2018 02:27 pm by gongora »

Offline programmerdan

So now NET January?

As I see it, 2018 is still the year when dedicated launch vehicles come to the fore. But only one of them is already launching.

There seems to be a word missing in that second tweet. Month? Quarter? Half?

Perhaps giving Ultima Thule flyby watchers something to do while waiting on lightlag? (literal reading, Jan 1...)

Offline vaporcobra

The captive-carry testing planned just prior to launch is now scheduled to begin no earlier than December 6th according to this new FCC filing, so the launch itself is probably NET the last week or two of 2019, assuming all goes well.

https://fcc.report/ELS/Virgin-Orbit/2061-EX-ST-2019

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: Virgin Orbit LauncherOne : Orbital Test Flight : early 2019
« Reply #14 on: 11/30/2019 07:26 pm »
https://twitter.com/spacecom/status/1200868942585090048

Quote
Cosmic Girl is back in Mojave....
« Last Edit: 11/30/2019 07:27 pm by FutureSpaceTourist »

Offline ParabolicSnark

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Re: Virgin Orbit LauncherOne : Orbital Test Flight : NET 2019
« Reply #15 on: 12/04/2019 05:00 pm »
My understanding is that there is at least another 3-5 weeks of testing on LauncherOne before they're ready to launch. I'm wondering how much of the rain and high winds in Mojave this time of year will affect their schedule.

Mandatory Saturday's appear to be in effect. Typically VO closes down between Christmas and New Years. In the past there were incentives for those surrendering their holiday and sticking around to get some work done - I suspect those incentives will be replaced with "You can keep your job."

Online zubenelgenubi

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Re: Virgin Orbit LauncherOne : Orbital Test Flight : early 2020
« Reply #16 on: 01/01/2020 07:17 am »
Cross-post; launch in early 2020:
https://virginorbit.com/in-one-year-and-out-the-other/
Quote
In January, we plan to have Chief Test Pilot Kelly Latimer and the rest of our flight crew guide us through one more taxi test with the mated rocket and an additional captive carry test with our orbital flight hardware. Then, we’ll be ready to light this candle and conduct our launch demonstration.
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Online gongora

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Re: Virgin Orbit LauncherOne : Orbital Test Flight : early 2020
« Reply #17 on: 01/05/2020 02:36 am »
FCC permit for first launch, now NET Feb. 19, 2020.
0006-EX-ST-2020

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: Virgin Orbit LauncherOne : Orbital Test Flight : early 2020
« Reply #18 on: 01/31/2020 02:13 pm »
https://twitter.com/virgin_orbit/status/1223262033346318336

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Cosmic Girl and LauncherOne are back on the runway in Mojave!

twitter.com/virgin_orbit/status/1223262376717250561

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Since the beginning the year, there's been a flurry of fast-paced but deliberate activity to ready ourselves for an orbital launch demo with LauncherOne. Between flight sims, loading rehearsals and more, we validated a bevy of procedural and technical parameters...

https://twitter.com/virgin_orbit/status/1223262575078469638

Quote
… and worked to demonstrate both vehicle and team readiness across the mission timeline.

Last week, team got the thumbs-up to move all of our GSE over to the hammerhead, the area where we'll conduct ground ops in the run-up to our orbital launch demonstration.
« Last Edit: 01/31/2020 02:44 pm by FutureSpaceTourist »

Online FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: Virgin Orbit LauncherOne : Orbital Test Flight : early 2020
« Reply #19 on: 01/31/2020 02:46 pm »
twitter.com/virgin_orbit/status/1223262836341653504

Quote
This week, we took LauncherOne off the test stand and re-mated the rocket to Cosmic Girl's wing.

All this activity is a precursor to a short series of wet dress rehearsals, as well as one more taxi test and captive carry flight with the fully loaded rocket.

https://twitter.com/virgin_orbit/status/1223262947104808962

Quote
Everyone is eager for us to conduct our launch demonstration — us more than anyone else.  Now, we’ve got the rocket, our airplane and all of our support equipment positioned just next to the runway from which we'll fly. In a very literal sense, we're really close!
« Last Edit: 01/31/2020 02:47 pm by FutureSpaceTourist »

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