On the live stream it was fairly obvious something was wrong as around the end of the 2nd stage first burn and the start of the coasting phase, the telemetry showed it hadn’t reached orbital velocity, the altitude went down rapidly and it decelerated. It stopped showing descent and went to zero mph at 244,500 feet, presumably when it broke up. It took them 25 minutes after this to announce there was anomaly.

The live stream before that was off the scale bullshit with random Americans spewing disingenuous platitudes and Richard Branson wittering on about when the Virgin Records label signed the Rolling Stones.

The live stream before that was off the scale bullshit with random Americans spewing disingenuous platitudes...

Then you haven't seen the 2 gentlemen that were doing their (M&S) talk on the BBC News channel (Outside Source). Now, I'm no Brit, so am not familiar with all the talking heads of the UK government. But there was a bearded gentleman there who was spouting so much hot air and (to use the correct en_GB vernacular ;) rubbish in line with "Make britAin Great Again" while also in the same sentence, pointing out the benefits of this space stuff for those "suffering during the current cost of living crises" , that even I, as a Scandinavian, got what (s)mogg he is breathing on a daily basis.

Ah well, to stay with the British vernacular...

O dear. How sad. Never mind. Keep moving, nothing to see here...

I love your whataboutery but I observed people trying to justify this stunt and come up with reasons that it’s a good idea without admitting they have been bought with subsidies and Richard wanted to do it for the sake of old Blighty and his personal glory.

I see what you mean, but we are probably seeing different renditions and flavours of the same thing. Like you write:

people trying to justify this stunt and come up with reasons that it’s a good idea

I suppose that the benefits of this satellite launching for those struggling to pay their heating bills currently might be... yeah, well..

And then I didn't tell you about the other gentleman in that same interview. He was really happy that he personally now just had to hop in a car and drive down the A (sorry, not familiar with the road system in Wales) to launch a satellite instead of flying to Florida.

Like you say, so many good reasons...

If the fella is going to be using the road system in Wales then he will need a ferry boat across the Bristol Channel.

Going down the A30 in summer can sometimes take longer than a flight to Orlando.

You couldn't get more British than this. Like the Beagle 2 failure, Branson can't get it up.

...which explains the continued state of Virginity, even after all these years..

...Interestingly, the only scumbag billionaire with proven capability of getting it up is also the only one not to have gone and done so himself..

Beagle 2 was so close, though. Just one thing got stuck after launch, otherwise it'd have been a success.

They'll know what's gone wrong in this case. A fair shout might be that the long gap between manufacturing the rocket and launch has allowed the gremlins to creep in (either parts going bad with age, or too much "tinkering").

Mebbe, mebbe not.

"close" only counts with hand grenades (and nuclear weapons).

The first Black Arrow satellite launch attempt failed on a second stage problem, but they were ready to go again and successful within 2 months. I wonder if Virgin Orbit will be back for another go so quickly.

Virgin Orbit are planning on doing a similar stunt in Brazil and another in Australia so I am starting to feel like this is a travelling circus act.

Presumably there are advantages in what is effectively a combined mobile launch site and reusable first stage. I'll make an uninformed guess that there are potential cost savings if the launch site is moved to suit the desired final orbit.

> Just one thing got stuck after launch

It only takes one.

> otherwise it'd have been a success.

It wasn't.

TBF, the "Stuck" bit was after a sucessful landing: The solar panels didn't open properly.

The successful landing was probably a bit harder than it could cope with causing the panel unfolding mechanism to fail.

At least it wasn't like one of SpaceX's "unscheduled rapid disassembly" events

I am pretty sure that the whole thing got disassembled way before scheduled.

Coming back down at hypersonic speed with the payload fairings off into the hard atmosphere would have made for an interesting couple of minutes.

They combined a renowned snuffware company (see bottom right of the virgin orbit carrier plane path, link below) and a Boing 747 to make a Brexit. What did they expect?

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/006A/production/_127560100_virgin_orbit_rocket_launch_path_map_640-nc.png.webp

Currently batting a 4/6 success rate.

The 747 is the only currently flying commercial airframe that's appropriate, because it was designed in a time when jet engines were both less reliable and harder to ship.

The 747 has a hardpoint on one wing designed to carry a spare engine for transport between airfields - or for testing new engine designs at altitude.

Cosmic Girl carries a tiny rocket instead of engine #5.

The Pegasus rocket is also air launched. Previously from a B52 but now from a modified and last airworthy Tristar.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Grumman_Pegasus

Looking at the pictures on BBC News, the rocket isn't attached to that 5th wing hardpoint but under the belly of the airframe.

It's a bit of a stretch to claim the launch is from British soil, when the first part is simply transporting the rocket to it's actual launch site over the Atlantic.

If anything it was launched closer to Ireland than the UK. Doesn't the Virgin empire have some offshoots in Ireland? Can't they claim it's their launch?

Spaceport Cork?

The original plan was to integrate the payload in the UK, then fly to the US, land and refuel, then take off and launch.

Quite a few people pointed out that they weren't justified in calling that a UK launch, so they changed the plan.

The launch angle is odd though, looks to be slightly retrograde - presumably to avoid launching over land or busy seaways.

High inclination and slightly retrograde so it could come crashing down on the Canaries.

That angle wasn't really that odd - you should look at the launch angles most polar launches from the US (both East & West coast) take.

Normally the initial launch is at an odd angle to avoid land but then the second (or later stages) then perform a dog-leg maneuver to change it into it's desired orbit.

That said, I did see somewhere the trajectory was something like 137 degrees which is still east of south. Some of the maps used in some diagrams were pretty poor which would help to confuse things

It's a bit of a stretch to claim the launch is from British soil, when the first part is simply transporting the rocket to it's actual launch site over the Atlantic.

It’s using the Boeing as a first stage. Just like launches from Florida use a rocket as a first stage and then somewhere over the Atlantic it drops the first stage and then another booster actually takes the payload to orbit.

But this is just a team from the US using a runway in Cornwall for no actual pragmatic reason than a bit of flag waving.

Matt Archer, the agency's launch programme director said the issue occurred in the upper segment of the rocket.

"The second-stage engine had a technical anomaly and didn't reach the required orbit," he explained.

So the programme director doesn't even consider the Boeing as a first stage!

"the UK Space Agency insisted they posed no danger and were expected to burn or break up over the north Atlantic..." https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jan/09/uks-first-orbital-rocket-mission-takes-off-from-cornwall

Ah well, what's a bit more Branson-generated e-waste in the ocean? They were so keen to have a "British" launch but were apparently much less bothered about the rubbish at sea.

Just another data point in our accelerating downward spiral.

x = R*cos(w*t)

y = R+ sin(w*t)

z = z0 -v*t^a

The variables of interest are z0, v and a

> fly west over the Atlantic Ocean to an altitude of 35,000 feet

Exactly how much "british soil" is there at 35,000 feet over the Atlantic?

For extra points, can anyone explain to me how a rocket made in the USA, being dropped from a jet made by Boing, counts as a "British" launch?

By the same measure, the UK's only successful satellite launch vehicle - [1]Black Arrow, in 1971 should be counted as an Australian launch.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_space_programme

The only British bit is partly Branson, I think most of it is UAE owned.

It's Branson being narcissistic, some desperate flag waving people and also a bit of drumming up business.

The same roadshow is also due in Brazil and Australia soon.

Last year there were hundreds of rocket launches, deploying thousands of satellites.

It's such early days yet, imagine how reliable trains and steamships were at a similar stage of their development.

As a resident of the left-hand island (bottom half) of the right side of the pond there is still a lot to be admired about right-hand island.

A lot.

in honour of the failure I am wearing my LOHAN tshirt

Ad Astra Tabernamque

The Tory press would read.....

Virgin Orbit, launching out of Spaceport Cornwall UK, yesterday positioned numerous satellites into orbit. This is a great example of the benefits of Brexit and the levelling up in the UK.

Juche Britannia!

It failed.

Why? I don't know.

Is this a problem? Yes

Will they fix it? No doubt

What have most commentards here learned from this mission as simple onlookers? Apparently nothing

What should they have learned? Flying a rocket to orbit is a damn hard thing to do, dangerous and subject to multiple chances of failure.

I don't think the unsuccessful launch is a such a big deal to us here, although the Virgin share price is now on a similar trajectory to the rocket.

The "historic" part of it is a silly stunt.