Years of planning for the UK’s first space mission ended in failure on Monday night after suffering an “anomaly” during the flight.
After taking off from Cornwall, the Virgin Orbit plane flew to an altitude of 10,600km over the Atlantic where it jettisoned a rocket containing nine small satellites towards space.
However, the rocket, which was carrying a variety of civil and defence applications, subsequently failed to orbit.
The plane returned to Spaceport Cornwall safely as engineers tried to figure out what went wrong.
Virgin Orbit shared the news on Twitter shortly after 11.45pm.
“We appear to have an anomaly that has prevented us from reaching orbit. We are evaluating the information,” tweeted the company.
“As we find out more, we’re removing our previous tweet about reaching orbit. We’ll share more info when we can.”
Speaking in the early hours of Tuesday, Virgin Orbit Chief Executive Dan Hart said the team was “very proud” of the many successes of the mission.
But he was mindful the team failed to provide customers with the “launch service they deserve”.
What went wrong?
Speaking on Tuesday morning, Ian Annett, Deputy Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, said the team was “not quite sure” what happened to prevent the rocket achieving orbit.
“Virgin Orbit will be conducting a full review of the data over the next few days or so to determine exactly what went wrong,” he told Radio 4’s Today show.
Cosmic Girl successfully took off and reached the drop area, where the 22-metre rocket was deployed and ignited successfully, he said.
“But there seemed to be a problem with the second stage. Or an anomaly with the second stage,” he added.
“We need to look at that data. But this demonstrates how difficult getting into orbit with satellites actually is.
“We have demonstrated so much of it has been successful from last night. But we get up, we go back and we try again. That’s what defines us.”
What next?
Mr Annett said the team now plans to look at the data, think about how it goes forward and look ahead to the next launch.
“This happens in the space industry as well and we go back and go again and that’s what defines us,” he said.
“We would expect to see more satellite launches from the UK within the next year.
“There are so many complexities around this, whether it be regulations and air space. But certainly over the next 12 months we would expect to see us successfully putting satellites into orbit.”
LauncherOne intended to mark the start of a new development for the UK’s space ambitions to send scores of satellites into low-Earth orbit every year.
Spaceport Cornwall prepares for launch — in pictures
The launch was the culmination of an eight-year programme that has been driven by Spaceport Cornwall and the government to give Britain a sovereign space capability and allow it to become a player in the international race to harness the potential of the cosmos for life on Earth.
The programme has attracted international customers from the Middle East to Europe and the US, and could lead to further engagement, particularly with the UAE’s space programme.
The plane, named Cosmic Girl, took off on Monday night from Cornwall with hundreds watching and more than 75,000 viewing a live stream.
Named in tribute to the Rolling Stones’ 1981 hit, the Start Me Up mission involved a repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft and Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket.
It was originally hoped the launch could take place before Christmas but owing to technical and regulatory issues it had to be pushed into 2023.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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RESULT
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')
Company profile
Name: Oulo.com
Founder: Kamal Nazha
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2020
Number of employees: 5
Sector: Technology
Funding: $450,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Black Panther
Dir: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
Five stars
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
