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Engineers are making final preparations for the first satellite launch from the UK later on Monday, when a converted airliner is expected to launch a Virgin Orbit rocket carrying nine small satellites into space.
If successful, the mission would mark the first orbital space launch from British soil and the first international launch by Virgin Orbit, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson. The company, which is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, has completed four similar offerings in the United States.
A modified Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 carrying a rocket took off from Cornwall, southwest England, around 10:15 p.m. Monday (2215 GMT; 5:15 p.m. EDT). . About an hour into the flight, the plane will launch its rocket at 35,000 feet (about 10,000 meters) over the Atlantic Ocean in southern Ireland.
The rocket will then put nine mixed-use civilian and defense small satellites into orbit while the aircraft returns to Cornwall. Some of the satellites are used for UK defense surveillance, while others are used, for example, by businesses involved in navigation technology. A Welsh company is looking to make materials such as electronic components in space.
The UK Space Agency said it would be the first commercial satellite to be launched from Western Europe. In the past, satellites produced in the UK had to be sent to spaceports in other countries to enter space.
Ian Annett, deputy chief executive of the UK Space Agency, said: “In terms of launch capabilities, this is the beginning of a new era for the UK.” He said that the market demand for small satellite launches is strong, and the UK has ambitions to become ” European Launch Centre”.
The mission is a collaboration between the UK Space Agency, the Royal Air Force, Virgin Orbit and the Cornwall Council. Annette said it was too early to say whether more missions were planned in the coming months.
The launch was originally planned for late last year but was delayed due to technical and regulatory issues.
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