London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 16, 2025

Virgin Orbit explains first satellite mission from UK failed to reach orbit due to rocket fuel error

Virgin Orbit explains first satellite mission from UK failed to reach orbit due to rocket fuel error

After initial success the rocket failed in the latter stages meaning it didn't succeed in reaching orbit, falling instead into the Atlantic Ocean.

The first satellite mission from UK soil failed to reach orbit last month because a rocket fuel filter had become dislodged, Virgin Orbit has said.

Virgin Orbit sent up a jumbo jet carrying the rocket from Cornwall on 9 January.

But excitement turned to disappointment when the rocket failed to deploy its payload of nine satellites.

Virgin Orbit chief executive Dan Hart said the company would "proceed cautiously towards the launch" of its next rocket.

The opening part of the mission went according to plan as its plane took off from Spaceport Cornwall, Britain's first such site, at Newquay airport.

A converted Boeing 747 named Cosmic Girl flew to 35,000ft over the Atlantic Ocean off Ireland's southern coast.

There it jettisoned the 21-metre-long rocket containing nine small satellites, which would have been the first launched into orbit from the UK, or anywhere in western Europe, towards space.

But the organisers of the Start Me Up mission soon identified an "anomaly" which led to a "premature shutdown" that meant LauncherOne failed to orbit.

According to an investigation conducted by Virgin Orbit and overseen by the US Federal Aviation Administration, as well as the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch, the craft "successfully executed pre-flight preparations, carrier aircraft take-off, captive carry flight, and rocket release."

The statement added: "The ignition, first stage flight, stage separation, second stage ignition, and fairing deployment of the LauncherOne rocket were nominal."

All these milestones were described as "first-of-a-kind achievements" for any orbital launch attempt from western Europe, however from this point things started to go wrong.

Cosmic Girl was carrying Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket

After the second stage first burn a fuel filter in the feed line became dislodged, causing a fuel pump to operate at a reduced level - eventually starving the engine of fuel.

This caused the Newton 4 engine to overheat to the point of malfunction which resulted in the second stage thrust prematurely ending the mission.

According to the statement "the second stage and its payloads fell back to Earth, landing in the approved safety corridor in the Atlantic Ocean."

Mr Hart said the failure was "painful for all involved" but that the team was determined to "understand all contributing elements and to thereby get back to flight with a better system and a wiser team."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
×