Virgin Orbit has targeted its third space flight attempt for Sunday.
The launch window for California’s Mojave Air and Space Port is set for Jan. 17 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. local time, according to a tweet from Virgin One, with backup slots on Jan. 24 and 31.
This will be Virgin Orbit’s third trip to the launch pad – previous ones were cut short in May 2020 due to engine problems and in December due to an increase in coronavirus cases.
If all goes well, the rocket will detach from the Cosmic Girl aircraft carrier at about 10,000 feet and float in orbit.
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Virgin One’s LauncherOne will take off from Mojave Air and Space Port in California between 10am and 2pm local time on Jan.17
Our Launch Readiness Review [LRR] is complete, our hardware looks great and our customers are ready, ”the company tweeted.
‘We are following the latest actions that have been established at our LRR. Our launch is now focused on NET [no earlier than] Sunday January 17, with additional windows in January if needed. ‘
If all goes to plan on Sunday morning, Cosmic Girl will take off with LauncherOne under one of its wings.
The rocket, which is designed to send small satellites into space, will drop freely at about 10,000 feet and orbit Earth.
If all goes well, LauncherOne will detach from its aircraft carrier, Cosmic Girl, at 35,000 feet and float in orbit
Ten CubeSats from NASA and several American universities will be aboard LauncherOne, which can deliver more than 1,000 pounds of payload to a low-altitude equatorial orbit of 1,200 miles, or up to 661 pounds to a 310-mile polar orbit.
When it reaches an altitude of 50 miles, it will be the first time Virgin Orbit has successfully launched anything into space.
Richard Branson’s division has delayed LauncherOne’s first orbital test flight on May 24, 2020 due to a problem with a sensor.
‘Everything runs smoothly: team, plane and missile are in excellent condition. However, we have one sensor that is acting, ”the company tweeted.
Ten CubeSats from NASA and several US universities will be on board LauncherOne, which can deliver more than 1,000 pounds of payload to a low-altitude equatorial orbit of 1,200 miles, or up to 661 pounds to a 310-mile high polar orbit
Out of an abundance of caution, we are dissolving fuel to tackle, he said, adding that the launch was ‘scrubbed for today’.
Another attempt, on May 25, reached launch and saw LauncherOne released from Cosmic Girl, but the engine quickly died and crashed into the Pacific Ocean.
The company said the failure was caused by a break in a liquid oxygen supply line to the engine of the rocket’s first stage.
LauncherOne’s first launch in May 2020 was a failure, as the rocket’s motor died shortly after Cosmic Girl detachment
“History isn’t very friendly to first flights,” said Will Pomerantz, Virgin Orbit’s vice president of special projects. “In my best belief, about half the girl [rocket] flights fail. So those are the historical odds we are against. ‘
Pomerantz insisted that the Virgin Orbit team made every effort to prepare for the launch.
“You essentially get to a point where you’ve looked underneath each brick and verified that you don’t have to do anything more to verify that the system is ready.”
“We did.”
In December, another attempt, dubbed ‘Launch Demo 2,’ was aborted from New Mexico’s Spaceport America due to a spate of coronavirus cases in Los Angeles, where Virgin Orbit is based.
The company said several team members had tested positive, although there was no transfer between staff.