It was mission terminated for Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit on Monday, after the company failed in its first attempt to launch a rocket into orbit from a Boeing 747 aircraft.
In what was to be a test of the Californian company's plan to launch satellites into space, LauncherOne – a 21-metre test rocket – was planned to blast into space after being dropped from underneath the wing of Cosmic Girl, the company's modified aircraft.
The drop was successful and the rocket's engine ignited, but LauncherOne then suffered what Virgin Orbit is calling an in-flight anomaly, forcing the crew to abort the mission.
The aircraft and all crew on-board landed safely back at Mojave Air and Space port in southern California and there was no trip to space for LauncherOne this time.
Despite this, it wasn't an entirely wasted mission for the team at Virgin Orbit.
Not all bad news
The satellite launch company successfully completed all of its pre-launch procedures, the captive carry flight out to the drop site, clean telemetry lock from multiple dishes, a smooth pass through the racetrack, terminal count and a clean release.
After being released from the carrier aircraft, the LauncherOne rocket successfully lighted its booster engine on cue – the first time the company had attempted an in-air ignition.
"Our team performed their prelaunch and flight operations with incredible skill today. Test flights are instrumented to yield data and we now have a treasure trove of that. We accomplished many of the goals we set for ourselves, though not as many as we would have liked," said Virgin Orbit chief executive, Dan Hart.
"Our next rocket is waiting. We will learn, adjust and begin preparing for our next test, which is coming up soon," added Hart.
Teething problems
Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder, who successfully launched rockets in orbit in 2008, sympathised with the Virgin Orbit team on twitter.
The tech billionaire and aerospace chief executive tweeted his sympathy for the failed mission, reminding everyone that it took Space X four attempts to complete a similar launch successfully. .
Virgin Orbit first successfully dropped the 20-metre rocket from the wing of Cosmic Girl in July last year.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Dr Graham's three goals
Short term
Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines
Intermediate term
Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations
Long term
A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
