Satellite launch company Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB) announces
today that a joint mission between the United Kingdom’s Defense
Science and Technology Laboratory and the United States Naval
Research Laboratory (NRL) is expected to be lofted on the first
space launch out of Spaceport Cornwall later this year.
The government agencies’ joint Coordinated Ionospheric
Reconstruction CubeSat Experiment (CIRCE) is supported by the U.S.
Department of Defense’s Space Test Program (STP), which is
organized under the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC).
CIRCE will utilize two 6U CubeSats flying in tandem formation to
measure the ionosphere and radiation environment from multiple
vantage points. The mission will support the two countries’ joint
development of a wide range of civil and defense applications,
including GPS, radar, communication systems, and sensing
technology.
CIRCE will fly alongside other previously announced
international commercial customers. In addition, the flight will
feature the first Welsh-built satellite supplied by U.K. in-orbit
manufacturing start up Space Forge, an earth observation satellite
supplied through a joint project with Horizon Technologies and The
Catapult – the United Kingdom’s space-tech accelerator, as well as
the Kingdom of Oman’s first ever satellite.
Virgin Orbit’s first overseas flight is expected to be the
launcher’s fifth consecutive mission carrying commercial and
government customers since it began operations in 2021. Virgin
Orbit has successfully launched eight previous STP satellites to
orbit, demonstrating its ability to launch from any airport with a
spaceport certificate.
“We are honored to host this joint mission between the U.S. and
U.K. Governments on the launch from Cornwall,” said Virgin Orbit
CEO Dan Hart. “This demonstration, chosen to fly on the United
Kingdom’s first space launch from its territory, exhibits the
powerful value of collaboration between our two countries and their
mutual commitment to delivering the full value of space access for
all.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to work with our U.K. and U.S.
mission partners to execute this mission, which would achieve
milestones across multiple fronts,” said Mark Baird, Virgin Orbit
National Systems’ President. “We look forward to continuing to
accelerate the operationalization of our capabilities with this
mission and providing space access from non-traditional locations—a
fundamental facet of our mission to provide a broader space
capability.”
“The NRL CIRCE Team is thrilled to be a part of this joint US/UK
mission,” said Andrew Nicholas, a principal investigator with the
NRL’s CIRCE team. “We look forward to a successful launch out of
Spaceport Cornwall and are excited to continue work with our UK
partners once the CIRCE science data starts flowing.”
“The CIRCE space weather experiment will join a host of small
satellites on board Virgin Orbit’s first launch from the UK, and
it’s exciting to see the wide range of commercial, academic and
government partners who will share this moment with us,” said Dr.
Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency. “We are on track to meet our
ambition of becoming the first country to offer commercial launch
services from Europe, catalysing investment into our growing space
sector and creating hundreds of new jobs. I can’t wait to see
Cosmic Girl take to the skies above Spaceport Cornwall later this
year.”
“Defence science and technological activity in space has never
been more important, whether it is in support of military
operations or helping to combat climate change, defence innovation
is at the forefront of this work,” said Air Vice-Marshall Paul
Godfrey, Commander of UK Space Command. “After it enters orbit from
Spaceport Cornwall, CIRCE will enhance our understanding of space
weather and help us to keep critical satellites safe from the many
hazards associated with operating in space.”
“The countdown to Virgin Orbit’s first launch from Spaceport
Cornwall is on, and it’s excellent to have another pair of
satellites confirmed for the mission,” said George Freeman, UK
Minister for Science, Research & Innovation. “This is a strong
demonstration of the close ties between the U.K. and U.S. as we
pioneer new and innovative satellite technologies and build global
interest in Britain’s emerging launch capabilities.”
“It’s an honour that UK and US partnerships are to be launched
from Cornwall and we are proud to support the facilitation of these
international milestones,” said Melissa Thorpe, Head of Spaceport
Cornwall. “The mission aligns with Spaceport Cornwall’s delivery of
‘space for good,’ by bringing together partners from across the
planet in a shared mission to support space-to-planet
communications and applications to benefit humanity.”
About Virgin Orbit
Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB) operates one of the most flexible
and responsive space launch systems ever built. Founded by Sir
Richard Branson in 2017, the company began commercial service in
2021, and has already delivered commercial, civil, national
security, and international satellites into orbit. Virgin Orbit’s
LauncherOne rockets are designed and manufactured in Long Beach,
California, and are air-launched from a modified 747-400 carrier
aircraft that allows Virgin Orbit to operate from locations all
over the world in order to best serve each customer’s needs.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including with
respect to the expected joint mission between the United Kingdom’s
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and the United States
Naval Research Laboratory. These forward-looking statements
generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,”
“expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,”
“opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,”
“will continue,” “will likely result,” and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other
statements about future events that are based on current
expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks
and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to
differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press
release, including those in Virgin Orbit’s Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2022, and its subsequent
filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.
Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking
statements, and Virgin Orbit assumes no obligation and does not
intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise. Virgin Orbit gives no assurance that it will achieve its
expectations.
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Linda Rivera Principal Communications Officer, Virgin Orbit
Linda.Rivera@virginorbit.com +1 323 316 6499
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