The mission, dubbed “Start Me Up” and provided by British billionaire Richard Branson’s company Virgin Orbit, ended in failure.
The first rocket launch into space from British soil failed, mission officials said, reporting an “anomaly” as it neared its target.
The Virgin Orbit Boeing 747 carrying the 21-meter rocket lifted off at 10:02 p.m. Monday from Newquay Airport in south-west England. The rocket then separated from the aircraft and its engines were fired at an altitude of 35,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean, south of Ireland, at around 0:15 am, to reach the desired orbit.
But “It seems that we have an anomaly that prevents us from reaching orbit,” reported the company Virgin Orbit of British billionaire Richard Branson, specializing in space launches of small satellites.
>> More information to come at BFMTV.com
Source: BFM TV
