Once upon a time there was Sea Launch, a US/Norway/Russia/Ukraine consortium that used a converted oil-rig plus a support ship, to equatorially launch rockets and their satellites from the sea and using Zenit rockets. Sea Launch operated from 1999 to 2014 and successfully launched 32 rockets, although suffered a total of three complete failures and […]
Scotland’s SaxaVord Spaceport has secured funding to the tune of £139 million (€159.6m) to complete site development and prepare for multiple rocket launch missions. The cash comes in the form of a bond issue, and was reported to the UK parliament at a meeting on May 17th. The extra cash comes on top of £28 […]
Orbex says that construction has begun at Sutherland Spaceport (formerly known as Space Hub Sutherland) in Scotland, making this the first vertical launch spaceport to be built on the UK mainland. Located on the North coast of Scotland, the spaceport will be the ‘home’ spaceport of Forres-based rocket and launch services company, Orbex, which will […]
Virgin Orbit says it has completed its investigation into the problems of its failed January 9th launch from Spaceport Cornwall. The company said it return to flight later this year. Virgin Orbit is currently progressing through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring. Virgin Orbit says the rocket’s failure was caused by a fuel filter that had […]
Swedish Space Corp (SSC) says it will invest in sustainable social development through a number of initiatives. Among the initiatives is the newly inaugurated Spaceport Esrange where satellites will be launched from 2024, as well as a new membership in the global Exponential Roadmap Initiative with the aim of making SSC sustainable throughout the company’s […]
Virgin Orbit’s outgoing COO Tony Gingiss had some tough words for his fellow company leaders in a company-wide email obtained by news channel CNBC. The New York NASDAQ index is also suspending the company’s stock listing, effective April 13th. Although Gingiss doesn’t name CEO Dan Hart by name in his memo, or main backer Sir […]
Sir Richard Branson’s rocket company Virgin Orbit has filed for bankruptcy in the US after failing to secure new investment. The satellite launch company had already halted operations and laid-off staff but says it hopes to find a buyer for the business. In truth, it was always an also-ran contender in the competitive launch business […]
Virgin Orbit lost its LauncherOne rocket on January 9th when its second stage failed to operate correctly. CEO Dan Hart – speaking on a panel at the SmallSat Symposium in California – said that a small, and inexpensive part, might have been the cause. The problem flight took place from Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay, Cornwall […]
The rocket and satellite industry know all about Florida’s long history of launches, as well as the importance of the French Guiana facility at Kourou or the Russian Cosmodrome at Baikonur. But there are dozens of other would-be launch sites now emerging, and the UK is determined to tap into at least some of these […]
Virgin Orbit has reported that its Cosmic Girl launch from Cornwall on January 9th “ultimately fell short of reaching its target orbit”. The company admitted that the effort was not a moment to remember. Investors shared the sentiment and sent Virgin Orbit Holdings share price on the Nasdaq exchange crashing down 22 per cent on […]