Virgin Orbit’s Failed Launch a Setback for U.K.’s Space Industry

Failures in space launches are not unusual, and this one seems unlikely to deter Britain’s effort to become a country that not only can make satellites but also launch them. “When walking back from the airfield there was a definite stoic and resilient feeling that this isn’t the end of it,” said Emma Jones, the U.K. business director of RHEA Group, a Belgian space security company, which lost a navigation satellite on the Virgin Orbit rocket.

Still, the mission’s failure was undoubtedly a setback to participants. Among those taking a hit was In-Space Missions, a British satellite maker. A team at the company had spent the last couple of years making a pair of small surveillance devices for the launch, funded by agencies of the British Ministry of Defense and the United States military.

“Our two satellites would have been two of the most complex and magnificent satellites in the night sky,” said Doug Liddle, the company’s chief executive. “To have lost those is very upsetting for everyone.” Most of the devices on board were probably not insured, he said.

Still, British officials and people in the space industry say that even though the launch went awry, it represented important advances. To stage the launch, Britain has had to develop both the necessary infrastructure and regulatory regimes, a lengthy process.

“We didn’t quite make it over the line, but we have made it most of the way there,” Mr. Liddle said.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/10/business/uk-satellite-virgin-orbit.html