License to launch: UK space regulator gives Virgin Orbit satellites
the go-ahead
First satellite to be launched into orbit from western Europe... when
it takes off
After some tension around a delayed launch of what will be the first
satellite to go into orbit from British soil - or indeed from anywhere
in western Europe - UK regulators have confirmed they've issued all
licenses necessary for Virgin Orbit to deploy a rocket for horizontal
takeoff from a modified Boeing 747 from Spaceport Cornwall.
The mission - originally meant to depart on December 14 - is to launch
from Spaceport Cornwall, operating out of Cornwall Newquay Airport, in
the "coming weeks". The modified jumbo jet will carry its LauncherOne
rocket, with a nine-satellite payload, which will then be flown and
released in a designated launch location over the Atlantic Ocean.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/22/virgin_orbit_license/
SpaceX might get its butt kicked if all goes well.
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