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☆ Jupiter Mission Set to Explore Icy Worlds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A historic mission to Jupiter is about to blast off. The European Space Agency’s spacecraft nicknamed Juice—for Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer—is set to begin an eight-year journey toward the planet and three of its largest moons. Juice is scheduled to launch Friday morning Eastern Time from a spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, after an earlier attempt was scrubbed because of lightning risk.

☆ The Juice mission will soon launch to Jupiter’s icy ocean worlds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission, or Juice, was expected to lift off Thursday at 8:15 a.m. European Space AgencyGanymede, Callisto and Europa are ice-covered worlds that may contain subsurface oceans that are potentially habitable for life. European Space Agency“With Juice, we want to confirm there’s liquid water in these moons, confirm their heat sources. Testing and modeling of Jupiter’s radiation belts allowed engineers to prepare for what Juice will encounter. Given the eventual distance between the spacecraft and Earth, it will take 45 minutes to send a one-way signal to Juice.

☆ Virgin Orbit bankruptcy casts shadow over Japan's space dreams
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Eimi Yamamitsu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Oita prefecture, home to Japan's largest number of hot springs, partnered with Virgin Orbit in 2020 to create its first Asian spaceport at Oita Airport using a Boeing (BA.N) 747 for horizontal rocket launches. Two Japanese companies, ANA Holdings (9202.T) unit All Nippon Airways Trading Co and little-known Japanese satellite development start-up iQPS Inc emerged among the top six creditors when Virgin Orbit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday. ANA said it was hopeful Virgin Orbit, which has said it is seeking a buyer, would be able to restructure and resume business. "We pray that Virgin Orbit will resume their business for the development of the global space industry." "It is possible that some other company will buy Virgin Orbit.

☆ Virgin Orbit COO calls out company leadership for failures in goodbye memo. Read the full email
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Gingiss' email appears to call out Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart, although not by name, and offers an apology to employees that they "have not heard from the person who should be saying it." With Virgin Orbit now under bankruptcy protection, departing Chief Operating Officer Tony Gingiss had some choice words for the company's leadership, as well as a lengthy and detailed apology to its employees. Dear Virgin Orbit and Virgin Orbit National Systems current and former employees,Like many of you, today is my last day at Virgin Orbit. Thank you for everything you gave to me personally and to the dream of Virgin Orbit. Go boldly onto your next adventure and bring that special you that you brought to Virgin Orbit.

☆ What went wrong at Virgin Orbit? 4 red flags signaled trouble for Richard Branson's satellite launch firm.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit struggled to make a comeback after a failed launch in January. Unlike SpaceX, Virgin Orbit blasts its LauncherOne rocket into space with the help of a modified Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 called Cosmic Girl. This funding "was not enough to counter the strong headwinds and liquidity challenges Virgin Orbit continues to face," the spokesperson added. Ultimately, Virgin Orbit has been unable to reach the rate of launches needed to meet the required revenue, per CNBC. Funding issuesSince the failed UK launch, Virgin Orbit has attempted to rake in funding from investors, per reports.

☆ Here's what went wrong with Virgin Orbit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

The deal, facilitated by a so-called blank check company, gave Virgin Orbit a valuation of nearly $4 billion. That debt gives the flashy British billionaire first priority of Virgin Orbit assets in the event of the now-impending bankruptcy. And Chief Strategy Officer Jim Simpson had also spent more than eight years in Boeing's satellite division before joining Virgin Orbit. That frustration continued after the pause, with employees confused by the lack of specifics about which investors were speaking to Virgin Orbit leadership. Virgin Orbit

☆ Virgin Orbit extends unpaid pause as Brown deal collapses, 'dynamic' talks continue
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Virgin Orbit launches its LauncherOne rocket from the spaceport in Cornwall, marking the first ever orbital launch from the UK. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)Virgin Orbit is again extending its unpaid pause in operations to continue pursuing a lifeline investment, CEO Dan Hart told employees in a company-wide email. But discussions between Virgin Orbit and the Texas-based investor stalled and broke down late last week, a person familiar told CNBC. Virgin Orbit was spun out of Branson's Virgin Galactic in 2017 and counts the billionaire as its largest stakeholder, with 75% ownership. Mubadala, the Emirati sovereign wealth fund, holds the second-largest stake in Virgin Orbit, at 18%.

☆ A close Russian ally is messing with the legendary spaceport it leases to the Kremlin, seizing assets over an unpaid debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Baikonur is a source of pride for Moscow, from which the Soviet Union sent the first man to space. Baikonur is pivotal to the Russian space program. Even though it isn't physically in Russia, it has been leased by the Kremlin since Kazakhstan became independent when the Soviet Union collapsed. Founded by the Soviet Union as a test range for intercontinental ballistic missiles, it was transformed into a space port in 1955. It remains a key part of Russia's space program, and is the only site where Russia launches missions to the International Space Station.

☆ Virgin Galactic finishes lengthy spacecraft upgrades, plans Q2 commercial service
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Joe SkipperWASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (SPCE.N) has completed a lengthy upgrade period for its centerpiece tourist spacecraft, with commercial service on track to begin in the second quarter of 2023, the company said on Tuesday. This month, VSS Unity's twin-fuselage carrier plane VMS Eve made its first flight since 2021. Virgin Galactic is targeting monthly commercial missions after the Italian Air Force flight, a long-awaited cadence to handle the company's some 800 customers in line to fly. The company in February re-opened ticket sales to the public for spacecraft flights, setting prices at $450,000 per person with an initial deposit of $150,000. Each flight in space, over 50 miles (80 km) above ground, lasts roughly 10 minutes in microgravity, with VSS Unity launching mid-air from the center of its VMS Eve carrier plane.

☆ Virgin Galactic completes lengthy upgrade process ahead of resuming spaceflights
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An aerial view of carrier aircraft VMS Eve, left, and spacecraft VSS Unity, at Spaceport America in New Mexico on Feb. 27, 2023. Virgin Galactic said on Tuesday it remains on track to resume spaceflights in the coming months after completing upgrades to its carrier aircraft and spacecraft. During that period Virgin Galactic conducted a variety of repairs and enhancements to its jet-powered mothership, called VMS Eve. Then Virgin Galactic will conduct glide tests, where VMS Eve carries the spacecraft and releases it, before a test spaceflight with a full company crew onboard. Shares of Virgin Galactic are up about 65% this year as of Tuesday's close of $5.74 per share.

☆ Japan's H3 flagship rocket fails to lift off after booster engine glitch
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] An aerial view shows an H3 rocket carrying a land observation satellite fails to lift off after apparent engine failure at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan February 17, 2023, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo via REUTERSTOKYO, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Japan's H3 rocket, the country's first new medium-lift launcher in three decades, failed to lift off on Friday because two secondary booster engines strapped to the side of the space vehicle didn't ignite. It is designed to put government and commercial satellites into orbit and ferry supplies to the International Space Station. The United States has promised Japan a seat on one of its crewed lunar missions. "With the H3 we are aiming to halve the cost per launch," a Mitsubishi Heavy spokesperson said before the planned launch.

☆ Elon Musk says SpaceX is planning to attempt a launch of its Starship spacecraft in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said Starship could launch next month "if remaining tests go well." The SpaceX CEO's comment came in response to a Twitter user asking if Starship was almost ready for launch. Two crewed missions to the moon, Artemis 3 and 4, are expected to launch in 2025 and 2027. The Starship test flight will launch from the Starbase spaceport site in Boca Chica, Texas, federal filings show. SpaceX is yet to officially announce a date for its Starship launch and did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ 'Farewell to a wonderful beast': Branson's homage to Boeing 747
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Tim Hepher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] A rocket containing a payload of small satellites sits under the wing of "Cosmic Girl", a converted Boeing 747, at Cornwall Spaceport in Newquay, Britain, January 3, 2023 ahead of the first orbital launch from western Europe being planned by Virgin Orbit. REUTERS/Tim HepherPARIS, Jan 31 (Reuters) - British billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson, who was inspired to start an airline with a single Boeing 747 after getting stuck on a delayed flight, paid tribute to the Queen of the Skies on Tuesday as Boeing delivered its final jumbo jet. "It gave America and Boeing the leadership role in aviation," said Branson, the son of a flight attendant who founded Virgin Atlantic in 1984 after cold-calling Boeing as a successful record publisher to ask about a second-hand 747. Branson's latest aerospace venture, Virgin Orbit, aims to launch satellites from a rocket released from under the wing of a 747 dubbed Cosmic Girl, formerly part of the same airline. "So farewell to a wonderful beast."

☆ Billionaire Richard Branson calls the Boeing 747 a 'wonderful beast' after the last jumbo jet is delivered but says it was 'too expensive'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Richard Branson described the 747 as a "wonderful beast" as Boeing stopped production of the jets. Branson told Reuters the 747's daily fuel costs across the Atlantic became too expensive. Thousands of people gathered on Tuesday to celebrate Boeing delivering its final 747. "So farewell to a wonderful beast," Branson told Reuters. Insider attended the UK's first orbital space launch carried out by Virgin Orbit at Spaceport Cornwall.

☆ Spaceport boss says it's challenging being a successful woman in the space industry as some people exclude her from conversations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Melissa Thorpe, a Spaceport boss, spoke about the criticism she gets as a woman in the space sector. The space industry is male-dominated, but Thorpe said she's questioning how things are done. Thorpe said she didn't get into the space industry in the traditional way. One out of 5 space industry workers are womenThorpe's seven-day job not only involves running the spaceport, but also going to conferences, traveling, and meeting with clients in different time zones. The United Nations reported in October 2021 that around one in five workers in the space industry are women.

☆ I ticked 'watching a rocket launch' off my bucket list. But it was nothing like SpaceX and Blue Origin missions because the spacecraft took off horizontally.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Spectators like me watched the plane take off to the Rolling Stones song "Start Me Up" — which was also the name of the mission — blasting from speakers, but we were unable to see the rocket detach from the aircraft because it was released over the Atlantic Ocean, miles away from the spaceport. Kate Duffy/Insider

[1/2] European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson attend the inauguration of Esrange's new satellite launch ramp, Spaceport Esrange outside Kiruna, Sweden, January 13, 2023. The Commission is planning to loosen state aid rules, but some EU countries can spend more than others. Von der Leyen said the bloc needed "credible and ambitious" financing tools to preserve the single market. She said the Commission was working on an assessment of what the EU clean tech sector needed to compete with U.S. rivals. Yet Scholz's own Social Democrats published a paper on Thursday saying that new EU joint borrowing should be "constructively examined".

☆ Rocket builder ABL's inaugural launch fails shortly after liftoff, damages launch pad
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The company's RS1 rocket lifts off on its inaugural launch attempt from Kodiak, Alaska on Jan. 10, 2023. The first mission by ABL Space got off the ground on Tuesday, but the company's RS1 rocket suffered an issue early in the flight that caused it to fail shortly after lifting off. ABL President Dan Piemont told CNBC that the RS1 rocket stayed within the predefined "acceptable flight corridor" during the short launch, but after the rocket's engines shut down the vehicle "impacted directly on the launch pad," causing damage. ABL's RS1 rocket stands about 90 feet tall, and is designed to launch as much as 1,350 kilograms (or nearly 1.5 tons) of payload to low Earth orbit — at a cost of $12 million per launch. That puts RS1 in the middle of the commercial launch market, between Rocket Lab's smaller Electron and SpaceX's heavy class Falcon 9.

☆ Spaceport locals say rocket launch by billionaire Richard Branson boosted their farming community and put the area on the map
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Virgin Orbit's rocket broke down, but residents said the launch will put Cornwall on the map. Kate Duffy/InsiderSue and Paul Nuttall, who were looking to retire soon, told Insider that Virgin Orbit's launch was needed to put Cornwall, a farming county, on the map. Hosting Virgin Orbit's launch will hopefully keep children like Seth who are interested in space in Cornwall, Emma said. Virgin Orbit's mission was set to be the UK's first orbital space launch from UK soil. In a press conference on Sunday, Melissa Thorpe, head of Spaceport Cornwall, said she hopes residents feel proud of Cornwall "going to the stars."

☆ Virgin Orbit Satellite Mission Fails, Sending Shares Down
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Benjamin Katz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft carrying Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket prepared for take off at Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay, in the U.K., on Monday. LONDON— Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc.’s first effort to send a satellite into space from outside the U.S. failed, marking a blow to billionaire Richard Branson’s ambition to compete in the rapidly growing market for commercial satellite launches. Shares of the company, listed on the Nasdaq exchange, fell more than 20% in off-hours trading on Monday after the company said an anomaly had prevented its satellites from reaching orbit.

☆ Virgin Orbit Fails to Lift Satellite Load Into Orbit From Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Michael Wright | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON—A Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc. rocket carrying satellites from the U.K. failed to reach orbit after it suffered an anomaly over the Atlantic Ocean, a blow to Richard Branson’s ambitions in the growing market for commercial satellite launches. The rocket reached space but experienced an anomaly before it could achieve its target orbit. Cosmic Girl returned safely to Space Cornwall with the flight crew. Shares in Virgin Orbit, which are listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, fell 21% in off-hours trading after the problem was disclosed. The Start Me Up mission, named after the hit Rolling Stones’ song, marked the first international mission for Virgin Orbit and its first commercial launch from Western Europe.

☆ Britain's satellite hopes undimmed by mission failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Spectators gather around a replica rocket at Cornwall Airport Newquay to watch the first ever UK launch of Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket from Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay, Britain, January 9, 2023. REUTERS/Henry NichollsLONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Britain's hopes of becoming a leading destination for the launch of small satellites remain intact despite the failure of the first mission, the country's business minister Grant Shapps said on Tuesday. Hours after the plan to launch nine satellites ended when Virgin Orbit's (VORB.O) rocket suffered an anomaly which prevented it from reaching orbit, Shapps said another attempt would follow. The rocket was successfully released over the Atlantic from a Boeing 747 that took off from Newquay airport in western England. For Virgin Orbit, part-owned by British billionaire Richard Branson, it is the second failure since its first launch in 2020.

☆ Virgin Orbit just launched a rocket that failed to reach orbit. Take a look at what happened.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

When the rocket is released from Cosmic Girl at an altitude of 35,000 feet, its engines are designed to accelerate it into orbit. But this didn't happen on Monday at Spaceport Cornwall in southern England. A general view of Cosmic Girl, a repurposed Boeing 747 aircraft carrying the LauncherOne rocket under its left wing, as final preparations are made at Cornwall Airport Newquay on January 9, 2023 in Newquay, United Kingdom. Matthew Horwood/Getty Images

☆ Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit says its rocket suffered an 'anomaly,' stopping it from taking 9 satellites to orbit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Virgin Orbit said it has experienced an "anomaly" with its rocket during a UK space mission. The "Start Me Up" satellite mission was scheduled for Monday from Spaceport Cornwall at Cornwall Airport Newquay in southern England. About half an hour later, Virgin Orbit tweeted: "We appear to have an anomaly that has prevented us from reaching orbit. Richard Branson's company previously wrote on Twitter that its LauncherOne rocket had successfully reached orbit, but later tweeted that didn't happen and it would remove the post. Matt Archer, commercial space director at the UK Space Agency, told reporters on Monday that he was "disappointed, but proud of what we've achieved."

☆ English resort counts down to western Europe’s first satellite launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

NEWQUAY, England, — An English surfing resort was counting down to the first launch of orbital satellites into space from western Europe on Monday, when Virgin Orbit’s mission will transform the Cornish town of Newquay into the country’s first spaceport. The “horizontal” launch will catapult the resort in southwest England, population 20,000 and famous for its reliable waves rolling off the Atlantic, into the limelight as western Europe’s go-to destination for small satellites. Virgin Orbit, part-owned by billionaire Richard Branson, said nine satellites would be deployed into lower Earth orbit (LEO) from its LauncherOne rocket in its first mission outside its United States base. “Assuming that everything continues to look good we’re currently tracking well for launch,” a Virgin Orbit spokeswoman said on Sunday. The LEO sector is growing rapidly, spurred by satellite broadband companies such as Elon Musk’s Starlink, Amazon and London-headquartered OneWeb.

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