Launch Roundup: Virgin Orbit Drama Overshadowed Busy Week

The seven launches successfully conducted last week were overshadowed by the decision by cash-strapped Virgin Orbit to pause operations for seven days and furlough nearly its entire staff.

Virgin Orbit (NASDAQ:VORB) said it expects the operational pause to last until March 21 “in order to conserve capital while the Company conducts discussions with potential funding sources and explores strategic opportunities” in a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Branson’s company has launched six times since May 2020, with four successes and two failures. The company’s sole launch this year, which originated from Cornwall Newquay Airport in England, ended in failure after a fuel filter in the second stage broke loose.

Virgin Orbit’s decision throws the future of Spaceport Cornwall into doubt. No other air-launch companies have announced plans to operate from the airport.

Orbital Launches

There were seven launches in five days last week. SpaceX launched a Cargo Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) with six CubeSats for deployment from the orbiting laboratory. The satellites include:

• ARKSat-1 – University of Arkansas – technology demonstration
• AuroraSat — Aurora College – amateur radio
• Ex-Alta 2 — University of Alberta — Earth observation
• LightCube – Arizona State University – education
• NEUDOSE – McMaster University – science
• YukonSat — Yukon College — science.

Cargo Dragon’s unpressurized trunk contained the Defense Department’s Space Test Program – Houston 9 (STP-H9) payload, which included eight experiments. STP-H9 will be attached to the exterior of the space station.

Orbital Launches
March 13-19

SpaceX launched twice on March 17. A Falcon 9 launched 52 Starlink broadband satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Four hours later, a Falcon 9 launched the SES-18 and SES-19 geosynchronous communications satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Rocket Lab completed its second launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia. The payloads were a pair of Earth observation satellites for Capella Space.

China completed three launches last week, bringing the nation’s total for the year to 11. The payloads included two Earth observation satellites and a technology demonstration spacecraft.

Upcoming Launches

Relativity Space is hoping the third time is a charm when it attempts to launch its Terran 1 rocket on its maiden flight on Wednesday. The three-hour launch window has shifted from early afternoon to late night, which should ease the impact on air traffic during the busy spring break holiday.

Terran 1 will not carry a payload on its maiden flight. The booster is designed to place 1,479 kg (3,261 lb) into low Earth orbit or 898 kg (1,980 lb) into sun-synchronous orbit.

Upcoming Launches
March 22-30

ISRO is set to launch 36 OneWeb satellites on March 26. The 18th launch in the series will raise the number of OneWeb satellites to 616, enabling the company to provide global broadband service. The full constellation will have 648 satellites.

Orbital Launch Stats

The U.S. leads the world with 23 launches. SpaceX is responsible for 19 of 21 successful American launches. Rocket Lab has launched its Electron rocket twice. ABL Space Systems and Virgin Orbit each suffered a failure.

Orbital Launches by Nation
Through March 19

China has launched 11 times, followed by Russia with four. Japan’s record is 1-1, India has launched once, and Europe is not yet on the board.

SpaceX’s 19 launches have placed 650 satellites into orbit. The figure includes 439 Starlink broadband satellites on nine Falcon 9 launches, 80 OneWeb broadband satellites and 114 spacecraft on the Transporter-6 rideshare mission.

Launches by Company/Agency
Through March 19

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has launched 18 times, the company’s Falcon Heavy once. Long March 2C and 2D have launched a combined five times.

Launches by Booster
Through March 19

Russia’s four launches have been evenly split between Proton and Soyuz-2.1a boosters.

Fourteen of the 41 launches have been conducted from Florida. Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China have have hosted five launches apiece. Russia has launched four times from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Launches by Location
Through March 19

Suborbital Launches

South Korean startup Innospace conducted a successful maiden launch of its HANBIT-TLV suborbital rocket from Brazil’s Alcantara Launch Center on Sunday. The rocket’s payload was the SISNAV inertial navigation system built by the Brazilian Air Force’s Department of Aviation Science and Technology (DCTA).

Suborbital Launches
Excludes Ballistic Missile Tests
Through March 19

Hanbit-TLV uses a 15-ton hybrid engine developed by Innospace. The single-stage booster is 16.3 m (53.5 ft) in height, 1 m (3.3 ft) in diameter, and weighs 9.2 metric tons (10.25 tons).

Hanbit-TLV is Innospace’s first step toward developing a family of small launch vehicles.

NASA conducted two sounding rocket launches from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Feb 16. The purpose of the flights was to test a new capability to support science research in the mesosphere.