The first-ever orbital launch from the United Kingdom is all set to take place on January 9th. The 'Start Me Up' mission, involving a former Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 and Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne system, will carry several satellites into space from Spaceport Cornwall. Let's take a closer look below.

Virgin Orbit launch window nears

The mission's launch window will officially open at 22:16 UTC on Monday (Jan 9th). The launch, a joint effort between the United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA), Cornwall Council, the Royal Air Force (RAF), and Virgin Orbit, will transport a payload of commercial and government satellites into orbit, aided by a Boeing 747.

Melissa Thorpe, Head of Spaceport Cornwall, said,

"This is a phenomenal moment with incredible international collaboration. Virgin Orbit, the UK Space Agency and all of our partners are breaking new ground to transform access to space across the world from right here in Cornwall. My team at Spaceport Cornwall have worked so hard to get this far and we wish everyone the best of luck as the launch window opens, we are ready."

The mission is behind schedule after regulatory issues and additional technical work delayed a December launch. Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne system was mated with its carrier aircraft - a Boeing 747-400 (registration: N744VG) dubbed 'Cosmic Girl' - at Spaceport Cornwall last month and has undertaken multiple tests and rehearsals in preparation for the big day.

Yesterday morning, the LauncherOne system completed an end-to-end launch rehearsal, setting the stage for the real thing on Monday. While mission leaders are optimistic about next week, they will "maintain a conservative posture with regard to system health, weather, and all other elements of scheduling," while there are backup dates in January should conditions prove unfavorable.

Dan Hart, Virgin Orbit CEO, added,

"After ensuring that every technical aspect is sound and every regulation and code has been satisfied, it is gratifying to see this historic endeavor on the verge of coming to fruition."

A historic mission

The Start Me Up mission involves several 'firsts,' including the first-ever orbital launch from the UK and the first commercial launch in Western Europe. On December 22nd, Virgin Orbit revealed it had been granted the necessary launch and range control licenses by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) - also a first - while all satellites onboard recently received their licenses.

Ian Annett, Deputy CEO at the UK Space Agency, commented,

"We are entering a new era for space in the UK with the first ever satellite launch from UK soil and from Europe. This is a significant landmark for the nation, the UK Space Agency and for all those who have worked so hard over many years to make our ambitions to create a commercial space launch capability a reality."

LauncherOne's payload includes the UK Ministry of Defense's (MOD) 'Prometheus-2'; Oman's 'AMAN' observation satellite; and CIRCE (Coordinated Ionospheric Reconstruction CubeSat Experiment), a joint mission between the UK’s Defense Science and Technology Laboratory and the US Naval Research Laboratory. According to Virgin Orbit,

"The missions of the satellites span a wide range of activities aimed at improving life on Earth, including reducing the environmental impact of production; preventing illegal trafficking, smuggling, and terrorism; and a host of national security functions."

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Cosmic Girl and LauncherOne

Cosmic Girl is a 21-year-old former Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747-400 that flew under the airline between 2001 and 2015 under the registration G-VWOW. The 747 arrived in Cornwall in October from Mojave Air and Space Port (MHV), followed a few days later by the LauncherOne rocket.

The Boeing 747 will climb to 35,000ft over the Atlantic Ocean and release the 70-foot-long rocket carried under its left wing. The Start Me Up mission is the sixth to involve Virgin's LauncherOne system - after suffering failure during its maiden test flight in May 2020, the rocket has successfully carried 33 satellites into orbit across four successful launches.

How excited are you for Monday's launch? Will you be watching it live? Let us know in the comments.