Virgin Orbit targeted its third space flight attempt on Sunday.
The launch window in California’s Mojave Air and Space Port is set for Jan. 17 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., local time, according to a tweet from Virgin One, with backup slots on Jan. 24 and 31.
This will be Virgin Orbit’s third trip to the launch pad – the previous ones were interrupted in May 2020 due to engine problems and in December, due to the increase in the number of coronavirus cases.
If all goes well, the rocket will fall freely from the Cosmic Girl transport plane at about 35,000 feet and will float in orbit.
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Virgin One’s LauncherOne will take off from California’s Mojave Air and Space Port on Jan. 17 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., local time
“Our review of launch readiness [LRR] it’s complete, our hardware looks great and our customers are ready, ”the company said posted on Twitter.
“We are following the latest actions identified at the LRR. Our launch is now targeted for NET [no earlier than] Sunday, January 17, with additional windows in January, if needed. ‘
If all goes according to plan on Sunday morning, Cosmic Girl will leave with LauncherOne tucked under one of the wings.
The rocket, which is designed to deliver small satellites into space, will fall freely at about 35,000 feet and float in orbit.
If all goes well, LauncherOne will fall free from its transport plane, Cosmic Girl, at 35,000 feet and float in orbit.
Ten CubeSats from NASA and various US universities will be aboard LauncherOne, which can deliver over 1,000 kilograms of payload in an equatorial orbit at a low altitude of 1,200 miles or up to 661 pounds in a polar orbit of 310 miles .
If it reaches an altitude of 50 miles, it will be the first time Virgin Orbit has successfully launched something into space.
The division owned by Richard Branson postponed the first orbital test flight of LauncherOne on May 24, 2020 due to a problem with the sensor.
“Everything went smoothly: the team, the aircraft and the rocket are in excellent shape. However, we have a sensor that acts upwards “, the company wrote on Twitter.
Ten CubeSats from NASA and various US universities will be aboard LauncherOne, which can deliver more than 1,000 kilograms of payload in an equatorial orbit at a low altitude of 1,200 miles or up to 661 kilograms in a polar orbit of 310 mile.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we will unload fuel to address it,” he said, adding that the launch was “washed for today.”
Another attempt, on May 25, took off and saw the launch of LauncherOne from Cosmic Girl, but its engine died quickly and plunged into the Pacific.
According to the company, the failure was caused by a break in a liquid oxygen supply line to the engine in the first stage of the rocket.
LauncherOne’s first launch in May 2020 was a bust, as the rocket’s engine died shortly after it detached from Cosmic Girl.
“History is not terribly kind to the original flights,” said Will Pomerantz, vice president of Virgin Orbit for special projects. “Taking my estimate of the best faith, about half of the virgin [rocket] flights fail. So this is a kind of historical chance that we oppose.
Pomerantz insisted that the Virgin Orbit team did everything they could to prepare for the launch.
“Essentially, you get to a point where you look under every rock and check that you have nothing left to do to check if the system is ready.”
“This is what I have done.”
In December, another attempt, called “Launch Demo 2,” was disrupted at Spaceport America in New Mexico due to a wave of coronavirus cases in Los Angeles, where the Virgin Orbit is located.
The company said several team members gave positive results, although there was no transmission between employees.