Tag: Virgin Orbit
Tech Digest daily roundup: Cornwall prepares for UK’s first orbital rocket launch
There's a "bubbling of excitement" in the team preparing for the UK's first orbital rocket launch but they are "laser sharp" as final checks are carried out, says the mission's boss. The Start Me Up mission sets out from Spaceport Cornwall at Newquay Airport, with the launch window now starting around 10.16pm on Monday. It…
Tech Digest daily roundup: Virgin Orbit set to launch first space mission on UK soil
Image: Virgin Orbit The first space mission on British soil is due for lift-off in the coming weeks after the regulator granted licences. Virgin Orbit has been awarded licences to operate the UK's first space launch. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson's company demonstrated it has "taken…
Tech Digest daily roundup: Jumbo jet to launch UK’s first space rocket
Image: Virgin Orbit The jumbo jet that will launch the UK's first rocket into space has arrived at Cornwall's Newquay airport. Cosmic Girl, a former Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747, has carried more than 2.5 million passengers on almost 8,300 flights. But now the seats have been ripped out, the upper deck…
Tech Digest daily roundup: Could Samsung launch tri-fold phone?
Handsets like the Galaxy Z Fold 3 (above) and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 show that Samsung has mastered the art of making folding smartphones, and it now seems ready to add another fold to the mix, based on a recently published patent. As spotted by LetsGoDigital, the patent outlines a device with three separate display parts…
Virgin Orbit develops ventilator to fight COVID-19
Space flight company Virgin Orbit has developed a new mass-producible bridge ventilator to help in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Virgin Orbit team has been consulting with the Bridge Ventilator Consortium (BVC), led by the University of California Irvine (UCI) and the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), a group formed…
RAF pilot picked to join Virgin Orbit space programme
An RAF pilot who has been picked to join the Virgin Orbit space programme has spoken of his pride at being involved in the pioneering project. Flight Lieutenant Mathew “Stanny” Stannard, who is a Typhoon pilot with one of the RAF’s test and evaluation squadrons, is set to begin his three-year secondment next year. He…
Virgin Orbit hails test of air-launched satellite booster
Virgin Galactic’s sister company Virgin Orbit has conducted a drop test of its air-launched satellite booster over California in a key step towards space missions. The 70ft LauncherOne rocket was released from a Boeing 747 flying 35,000 feet over an Edwards Air Force Base test range in the Mojave Desert. The purpose of the test…
Virgin Orbit takes step closer to LauncherOne rocket launch
Virgin’s satellite launch provider Orbit attached its LauncherOne rocket to a converted Boeing 747-400 on Sunday, as the company moves closer to its first flight. Cosmic Girl, a converted Virgin Atlantic plane formerly used by passengers, took the 25,800kg rocket over southern California skies under its wing, acting as a “flying launch pad”. The captive…