Rocket launched as part of UK’s 1st-ever rocket mission faces 'anomaly'

LONDON

The LauncherOne rocket, which was launched as part of the UK’s first-ever rocket mission, is facing an ‘anomaly’ that is preventing it from reaching orbit, Virgin Orbit said late Monday.

We appear to have an anomaly that has prevented us from reaching orbit. We are evaluating the information.

— Virgin Orbit (@VirginOrbit) January 9, 2023

"We appear to have an anomaly that has prevented us from reaching orbit. We are evaluating the information," Virgin Orbit said on Twitter, nearly 30 minutes after it claimed that the rocket had successfully reached orbit.

Virgin Orbit added that they will share more information about the latest developments.

Virgin Orbit launched its LauncherOne rocket Monday from Cornwall, England, marking the first-ever orbital launch from the UK.

The Start Me Up mission -- a collaborative effort between the UK Space Agency, Cornwall Council, the Royal Air Force and Virgin Orbit -- will carry satellites from seven customers to space, including commercial and government payloads from several nations and a collaborative US-UK mission.

As part of the mission, the Virgin Orbit plane, carrying nine small satellites, lifted off from Cornwall Spaceport at 2202GMT.

The LauncherOne was released from its carrier aircraft at 2309GMT.

Later, Virgin Orbit plane Cosmic Girl returned safely back to the Cornwall Spaceport at 6 a.m. early Tuesday.

In November, the Cornwall Spaceport received the UK's first-ever spaceport license from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).