Virgin Orbit’s launch of a 70ft (21.33m) long LauncherOne rocket, packed full of satellites, happens on Monday from Newquay Spaceport, as Britain enters the space race!
History could be made on Monday night (January 9), when a former Virgin passenger plane (a modified Boeing 747) is expected to take to the skies and drop a rocket that will fly into space. It is a horizontal launch not like the NASA ones we are all used to seeing on TV.
If you want to know what Virgin Orbit is all about, this gives a good rundown. Basically, LauncherOne is a medium-sized rocket for placing small commercial and government-built satellites in low, medium and high Earth orbits.
The Countdown to Launch from Cornwall is on and the public are being welcomed to the site to witness this historic moment. However, the event, not surprisingly, is sold out! The good news is that Virgin Orbit livestream each of their missions.
For those who are not going to the live event, Start Me Up will be broadcast live on Youtube from around 21:00 for you to watch from the comfort of your own home. This is after all commercial flights to and from the airport have ceased.
Virgin Orbit says it should be possible for most people in the UK and Ireland to see LauncherOne within 60 seconds of ignition, while those living on the coast of France, Portugal, and Spain will get a good view within two to three minutes.
