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LONDON, Jan. 9 (AP) Engineers are making final preparations for the first satellite launch from the United Kingdom later Monday, when a converted airliner is expected to launch a satellite carrying several small satellites Virgin Orbit rocket 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.
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The company, which is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, has completed four similar offerings in the United States.
In the latest mission, a modified Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 carrying a rocket took off from Cornwall in south-west England at around 10.15pm on Monday.
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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 several small satellites into orbit for a mix of civilian and defense purposes, while the aircraft returns to Cornwall.
Virgin Orbit 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, described his “incredible excitement” on Sunday and said it was “a new era in space for the UK”.
The mission is a collaboration between the UK Space Agency, the Royal Air Force, Virgin Orbit and the Cornwall Council.
The launch was originally planned for late last year but was delayed due to technical and regulatory issues. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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