Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Virgin Orbit Snags $9.5M Grant To Set Up UK Launch Facility

Long Beach-based Virgin Orbit, the small satellite launch company founded by Richard Branson, has received a $9.5M grant from the United Kingdom's Space Agency (UKSA), to help the company set up a launch site in Cornwall, UK. According to Virgin Orbit, the new site will be part of Cornwall Airport Newquay, and will be called Spaceport Cornwall. Virgin Orbit has been developing a space launch system based on a 747 aircraft and Launcher One, a rocket that is dropped from the bottom of the 747 from high elevation. The satellite launch system is designed to take small satellites (Cubesats) into space for less than the cost of a traditional rocket launch.