Start Me Up

Mission

Start Me Up

• Type: Earth Science
• Orbit: Low Earth Orbit
• Launch Cost: $12,000,000

7 payloads for government and private customers. This mission is the first launch from the United Kingdom.

2nd stage engine failure at ~17000 km/h after 2nd stage fuel filter within the fuel feedline was dislodged from its normal position, causing lower than usual fuel flow and subsequent rise in engine combustion chamber temperature.

Location

Spaceport Cornwall

Air launch to orbit

Spaceport Cornwall has witnessed the launch of 1 rockets, including 1 orbital launch attempts. While Air launch to orbit, has been the site for 51 rocket launches.

Rocket

Virgin Orbit LauncherOne

LauncherOne is a two stage orbital launch vehicle developed by Virgin Orbit since 2007. It is an air launch to orbit rocket, designed to launch "smallsat" payloads of 300 kilograms (660 lb) into a Sun-synchronous orbit, following air launch from a carrier aircraft at high altitude.

Learn more about the LauncherOne

Agency

Virgin Orbit

Virgin Orbit is a company within the Virgin Group which plans to provide launch services for small satellites. The company was formed in 2017 to develop the air-launched LauncherOne rocket, launched from Cosmic Girl, which had previously been a project of Virgin Galactic. Based in Long Beach, California, Virgin Orbit has more than 300 employees led by president Dan Hart, a former vice president of government satellite systems at Boeing.

Virgin Orbit focuses on small satellite launch, which is one of three capabilities being focused on by Virgin Galactic. These capabilities are: human spaceflight operations, small satellite launch, and advanced aerospace design, manufacturing, and test