IMPORTANT: Depending on service availability, International shipping could take up to 2 months due to limited flight schedule from Hong Kong.

Another small step for Sir Richard Branson, a huge step for the Virgin brand!

Posted on January 22 2021

On Sunday, 17th January 2021 the rocket company Virgin Orbit succeeded in putting their first rockets into space. After failing a previous mission back in May, this endeavour has been a huge triumph for the Virgin team. Ten payloads, each developed by universities, were loaded on the rocket which was launched from under the wing of an old converted B747s, named ‘Cosmic Girl’.
✈️ "Cosmic Girl" left its base in California's Mojave desert at 18:50 UTC and flew out over the Pacific Ocean. Around an hour later, cruising at 35,000ft, the aircraft banked hard to the right and dropped the 21m long rocket. Within seconds the booster, called LauncherOne, had ignited its engine and was climbing to space. Correct deployment of the various spacecraft onboard at an altitude of roughly 500km was confirmed a couple of hours later.
In speaking about the successful mission, Sir Richard Branson stated, "Virgin Orbit has achieved something many thought impossible. It was so inspiring to see our specially adapted Virgin Atlantic 747, Cosmic Girl, send the LauncherOne rocket soaring into orbit.”
"This magnificent flight is the culmination of many years of hard work and will also unleash a whole new generation of innovators on the path to orbit. I can't wait to see the incredible missions Dan and the team will launch to change the world for good.”
The market for cheaper and smaller spacecraft is on the rise, of which many companies are trying to ride the wave. This satellite launch business which has been a project of Sir Richard Branson since 2009, is a huge contender that we can only expect more amazing developments to come from.
========================
布蘭森的一小步,維珍一大步 
2021年1月17日星期日,維珍火箭公司Virgin Orbit成功地將他們的第一批火箭送入太空。在五月份經歷失敗,今次的成功對維珍來說意義重大。今次火箭是從一架名為 #宇宙女孩 的改裝 #B747 機翼的下方發射。
✈️「宇宙女孩」 (Cosmic Girl)於UTC 時間18:50從加利福尼亞的莫哈韋沙漠中離開基地,飛越太平洋。大約一個小時後,在35,000尺的巡航高度,向右傾斜,放下21m長的火箭。幾秒鐘後,名為 #LauncherOne 的助推器點燃引擎,並爬上了太空。幾個小時後,各個載件正式進入軌道。
布蘭森爵士(Sir Richard Branson)在談到成功的任務時說:「Virgin Orbit取得了許多人們認為不可能的事情。看到我們特別改裝的維珍航空747 『宇宙女孩』號把LauncherOne火箭升入軌道實在令人鼓舞。」
「這次飛行是多年艱苦努力的結晶,亦將啟發新一代飛上軌道的創新科技。我希望看到團隊繼續改變世界 。」
廉價小型太空飛行器的市場正在發展,許多公司正試圖趕上潮流。自2009年以來,衛星發射業務一直是布蘭森爵士的重心項目,而未來可能會有更多驚人發展。
========================
(Photo Credit: Virgin Orbit/Greg Robinson. Retrieved from https://virginorbit.com/media-center/)
📣 Follow Kai Tak Ethos on Facebook and Instagram for more aviation insights!~

Comments

0 Comments

Leave a Comment