Britain Fails in its Maiden Attempt to Launch Satellite into Space

Britain’s dream to become the first European nation to launch satellites into space was shattered on Tuesday. The rocket suffered a hitch that prevented it from reaching the scheduled orbit.

The rocket of this “horizontal launch” mission had left the coastal town of Newquay in southwest England. Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket was transported under the wing of a modified Boeing 747 called “Cosmic Girl”, which was later released over the Atlantic Ocean.

Virgin Orbit, partially owned by British billionaire Richard Branson, had planned to send nine small satellites into Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) in its first mission outside the United States.  UK Space Agency informed that the in the first stage the rocket reached space but the second stage had a “technical anomaly and didn’t reach the required orbit”.

The UK Space Agency had much hope on this launch and had described it as a moment of national pride for Britain’s space industry. Britain’s minister for science, George Freeman, had also termed it a “historic moment”.