Quote from: Chris BerginVirgin Orbit's LauncherOne mission has a "launch window scheduled to open Dec. 14, 2022, but that date could change to Dec. 15-16 or later".It'll take off with Cosmic Girl from Cornwall, UK. The launch will be over the Atlantic. [Dec 6]
Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne mission has a "launch window scheduled to open Dec. 14, 2022, but that date could change to Dec. 15-16 or later".It'll take off with Cosmic Girl from Cornwall, UK. The launch will be over the Atlantic. [Dec 6]
Now slipped to 2023:Quote from: Jonathan Amos tweetThe @VirginOrbit launch from @SpaceCornwall is NOT going to happen this side of Xmas. VO is citing technical and regulatory challenges for its inability to meet next week's launch window. Neither VO nor its passenger satellites have yet been licensed. [Dec 8]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63895835
The @VirginOrbit launch from @SpaceCornwall is NOT going to happen this side of Xmas. VO is citing technical and regulatory challenges for its inability to meet next week's launch window. Neither VO nor its passenger satellites have yet been licensed. [Dec 8]
Quote from: Ken the Bin on 01/04/2023 04:21 pmNGA notices. Note that these notices cover only January 9 and January 18 of the dates that William Graham lists above.<snip>Quote from: Dr Marco Langbroek tweetA Navigational Warning has appeared for the @VirginOrbit LauncherOne launch "Start me Up", for 9 Jan 22:16 - 00:16 UTC. Backup date Jan 18 [same window].Area is consistent with a launch into a ~555 km altitude, 97.6 deg inclined Sun-Synchronous orbit. [Jan 4]
NGA notices. Note that these notices cover only January 9 and January 18 of the dates that William Graham lists above.<snip>Quote from: Dr Marco Langbroek tweetA Navigational Warning has appeared for the @VirginOrbit LauncherOne launch "Start me Up", for 9 Jan 22:16 - 00:16 UTC. Backup date Jan 18 [same window].Area is consistent with a launch into a ~555 km altitude, 97.6 deg inclined Sun-Synchronous orbit. [Jan 4]
A Navigational Warning has appeared for the @VirginOrbit LauncherOne launch "Start me Up", for 9 Jan 22:16 - 00:16 UTC. Backup date Jan 18 [same window].Area is consistent with a launch into a ~555 km altitude, 97.6 deg inclined Sun-Synchronous orbit. [Jan 4]
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/start-me-up-virgin-orbit-launch-from-spaceport-cornwall-tickets-504811353347January 9, 2023Event running order (exact timings tbc):<snip>LauncherOne Rocket released: 22:54 - 23:54<snip>Satellite separation confirmation: 01:15 - 01:30 (10/01/23)<snip>[All times GMT/UTC]
Rocket Factory Augsburg @rfa_spaceWe just keep going!RFA ONE's first stage arrived safely in SaxaVord and has been lifted onto the launch pad. The RFA UK team is currently working hard to prepare it for our first hot fire campaign.Who's as excited as we are?
FARNBOROUGH, England — A spaceport in the Shetland Islands expects to soon be ready to host the first vertical orbital launch from U.K. soil.In a presentation at the Farnborough International Airshow here July 23, Scott Hammond, deputy chief executive and operations director of SaxaVord Spaceport, said he expected the spaceport to receive the last of the licenses from U.K. regulators in September needed to host the inaugural launch of Rocket Factory Augsburg’s RFA ONE rocket there.The launch site, located on Unst in the Shetland Islands, received a spaceport license from the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in December 2023. That was followed in March by a separate range license for the site. Hammond said he expects a final license, regarding airspace access for launches from the spaceport, in September. The CAA will separately issue RFA a launch license.That would allow RFA to attempt an orbital launch there. The company performed a static-fire test from the site in May, firing four of nine engines in the vehicle’s first stage. He said the company was preparing for similar tests that will fire five, and then all nine, engines in the stage.The second stage for that inaugural launch is scheduled to arrive this week after tests in Kiruna, Sweden, followed by its third stage and the satellite payloads. “Everything is gearing up very much for the next steps in our journey to space.”The spaceport facilities themselves are ready, he said, other than what he described as minor adjustments to the launch stool on which the rocket is mounted.The official launch date for the mission is the third quarter, Hammond said, although other U.K. officials at the air show suggested a launch later in the fall is more likely. “If anybody tells you in this industry when a launch is going to be,” he quipped, “they’re lying to you because there are a lot of speed bumps.”He sought to set expectations accordingly for the launch, the first from SaxaVord and the first by RFA. “This is a test flight, and it is an iterative process: we learn as we go along,” he said, expressing concern that politicians in particular did not appreciate that. “Sometimes I worry that the politicians want to see success straight away and, if not, they lose interest.”The upcoming launch is the culmination of several years of work to establish the spaceport and deal with U.K., Scottish and local officials. Those efforts had setbacks, he said, including a £170 million ($220 million) debt facility to finance the spaceport and other development that “fell through” last year, he said.The U.K. government did provide £10 million for SaxaVord earlier this year to finance spaceport development. He said the larger debt facility was intended to cover a “much wider piece” of work on the site beyond the launch pad and related facilities.SaxaVord’s license allows the spaceport to host up to 30 launches a year, although Hammond acknowledged it will take some time to get close to that. “It’s not just a one-off,” he said of the upcoming RFA launch. “We want to do this multiple times a year. That takes time and effort, so it will take a little bit longer.”Among the other customers for SaxaVord is Lockheed Martin, which intends to conduct its “U.K. Pathfinder” launch from SaxaVord under a contract awarded by the U.K. Space Agency in 2018. That launch will use an RS1 rocket from ABL Space Systems.Hammond acknowledged those plans were in question after ABL’s second RS1 rocket suffered “irrecoverable” damage in a fire after an engine test July 19 ahead of a planned launch from Kodiak Island, Alaska.“That’s a very good question after Friday,” he said of the schedule for the U.K. Pathfinder launch, referring to the day the RS1 rocket was damaged. He said he met with Lockheed Martin earlier in the day to discuss the status of that mission. “We don’t know until we know the results from their investigation.”
In an interview during the Farnborough International Airshow in July, Phil Chambers, chief executive of the United Kingdom-based company, said the company was making progress on both its Prime small rocket and launch site at Sutherland Spaceport in northern Scotland.“We expect the spaceport to be ready in early spring of next year,” he said. Vehicle subsystems are going through critical design reviews, with some flight hardware under construction.“We are shooting for a 2025 launch,” he said, but declined to be more specific about a launch date other than to say that the company wanted to avoid a launch in winter because of poor weather conditions. “But I do want it to be 2025.”Matthew Archer, director of launch at the U.K. Space Agency, said in a separate interview at the air show that his agency expected the Sutherland Spaceport to be complete by early next year. The company’s first launch, he projected, is “probably about a year or so away.”Once the company starts launching the Prime rocket, Chambers said launches would be limited by the company’s ability to produce rockets in its current facilities. “We can probably handmake about three or four a year,” he said. “We need to build a factory to scale up.”
Scheduled:Date - Satellite(s) - Rocket - Launch Site (Country) - Time (UTC)2025 2023 NET Summer - TBD - Prime (Orbex) - SaxaVord Spaceport (US, UK)Changes on August 20th
Orbex is developing the Prime launch vehicle that will launch from Sutherland Spaceport in northern Scotland. An initial test launch is scheduled for the summer of 2025, with commercial launches beginning in 2026.
In December 2022, Latitude has successfully tested a prototype of the Navier engine at SaxaVord spaceport, running the engine for roughly 30 seconds. Further testing rounds are now planned for April and June 2023, which would allow for the development of a flight-configuration Navier engine. The Zephyr rocket is then planned to take off from SaxaVord in late 2024, though the possibility of a launch in 2025 is much greater, considering New Space rocket development timelines. Latitude has also been chosen by CNES as a candidate for launches from Kourou, though they are too early in the development phase to be specific when they will launch from French Guiana.
Other companies in Europe are pressing ahead with first launches of new small vehicles. Stanislas Maximin, chief executive of French startup Latitude, said the company plans to have its Zephyr vehicle ready for an initial test launch by the end of 2025.
https://spacenews.com/small-launch-vehicles-press-ahead-despite-market-setbacks/QuoteOrbex is developing the Prime launch vehicle that will launch from Sutherland Spaceport in northern Scotland. An initial test launch is scheduled for the summer of 2025, with commercial launches beginning in 2026.
this will pave the way for the inaugural launch of an Orbex Prime rocket carrying payload on behalf of Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) into space.