Virgin Orbit‘s LauncherOne is ready to fly into space once again.
The company’s readiness review is complete and their LauncherOne launch window is set for June 30 from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m., PDT, and the Tubular Bells: Part One mission is currently GO for launch.
Pre-launch ground operations are well underway at Mojave Air and Space Port in California. Earlier this week, Virgin Orbit mated the payload fairing to the rocket (all the while it was attached to Cosmic Girl‘s wing), using one of the firm’s customized trailers, which is a process that will be replicated to support responsive launch campaigns at sites around the world — Cornwall, UK; Guam, US; and Oita, Japan, just to name a few.
This launch means a lot to the company in that there are three customers for this mission — the U.S. Department of Defense, SatRevolution and the Royal Netherlands Air Force. All have entrusted LauncherOne to uplift their smallsat adventures and this is a great indication of how Virgin Orbit leverages the unique advantages of air launch to make space more accessible for folks from all corners of the map.
Virgin Orbit also announced their agreement with SatRevolution to expand the strategic partnership and launch their “constellation of constellations.” In addition to these future dedicated and rideshare launches, Virgin Orbit and SatRevolution will also seek new opportunities for collaboration, such as the development of integrated mission services and other activities aimed at cultivating Poland’s rapidly growing space industry.
Watch the action in real-time by tuning into this mission’s livestream, available via YouYube. Similar to Launch Demo 2, the company will also share mission milestone updates as they happen on Twitter (@VirginOrbit).
See you tomorrow for Tubular Bells: Part One!
