The first attempt to launch a satellite from western Europe appeared to have failed when Virgin Orbit said an 'anomaly' had prevented its rocket from reaching orbit
The "horizontal launch" mission had left from the coastal town of Newquay in southwest England, with Virgin's LauncherOne rocket carried under the wing of a modified Boeing 747 called "Cosmic Girl", and later released over the Atlantic Ocean.
Virgin Orbit had initially said on Twitter that LauncherOne had reached earth orbit, a tweet it later deleted. Archer, at the UK Space Agency, said the a first stage burn had taken the rocket into space but the second stage had a "technical anomaly and didn't reach the required orbit". It was not immediately clear how the failure, which will have to be investigated, would affect the timing or location of future missions. Virgin Orbit Chief Executive Dan Hart told reporters on Sunday that the company hoped to return to Newquay before the end of 2023.
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