The first attempt to place satellites into orbit from the UK – indeed, from any place on the European continent outside of Russia – saw the launch vehicle enter orbit but fail to achieve the correct orbit, making the mission a failure. The launch was made in the early hours of Tuesday morning, South African time, and executed by US company Virgin Orbit (whose majority shareholder, however, is famed UK entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson). Virgin Orbit specialises in horizontal launches. That is, the company’s space rocket, designated LauncherOne, is carried aloft on a pylon mounted on a modified Boeing 747 airliner (named Cosmic Girl). At an altitude of about 10 600 m, the LauncherOne is released by the aircraft, drops away and, at a safe distance, ignites its rocket motor and zooms up into space. LauncherOne is a two-stage rocket, with the upper stage being responsible for deploying the satellites in their correct orbit.
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