Virgin Orbit in partnership to build a spaceport in UK
What's the story
Richard Branson-owned Virgin Orbit, a spin-off of space tourism venture Virgin Galactic, has announced a partnership with Cornwall Airport Newquay, UK, to build a spaceport that will offer rocket launches, as well as passenger airline services simultaneously. The partnership could see Virgin Orbit launch its first-ever rocket from a plane instead of traditional, terrestrial launchpads. Here's more.
Information
Cornwall Airport is already an active commercial airport
Cornwall Airport is already an active commercial airport, located in South West England. Upon completion of the project with Virgin Orbit, it will become one of the few places in the world that simultaneously offers commercial airline and rocket launching services.
Launch plans
Virgin Orbit plans to start launches by 2021
Reportedly, Virgin Orbit plans to conduct orbital launches from the new spaceport by 2021. The company plans to use its modified Boeing 747-400, dubbed 'Cosmic Girl', to carry its latest rocket, LauncherOne, to a high altitude and deploy it into space. Once it's deployed, the rocket will disengage its parts at different stages, and finally release its satellite payload(s) into space.
Twitter Post
A video demonstrating the mid-flight rocket launch procedure
Curious what a #LauncherOne mission from @SpaceCornwall would look like? Check out this clip: pic.twitter.com/3B1lr1etwP
— Virgin Orbit (@Virgin_Orbit) July 16, 2018
Economic efficiency
Virgin Orbit claims that flight-based launches will be more efficient
Virgin Orbit is also of the opinion that launching rockets using Cosmic Girl would be more economically efficient than traditional, terrestrial launchpads. How? Well, for starters, using a flight-based launch tactic would eliminate the need to heavily spend on infrastructural requirements for launchpads. Additionally, it would also eliminate both spending and the complications arising out of air traffic control for ground-based launches.
Co-benefits
The partnership benefits both Virgin Orbit, and the UK
With the Cornwall Airport Newquay partnership, Virgin Orbit now has two places to launch from - their extant launchpad in Mojave, California, and the upcoming spaceport in UK. The partnership is also a boon for the UK in terms of the modern space race. The UK had last launched a satellite with its own rocket in 1971, that too from an Australian launchpad.