UK and US to Launch Joint
Mission Aboard United Kingdom’s First Orbital Launch
Supported by Virgin Orbit
June 07, 2022
Satellite launch company Virgin
Orbit announces that a joint mission between the
United Kingdom’s Defense Science and Technology
Laboratory and the United States Naval Research
Laboratory (NRL) is expected to be lofted on the
first space launch out of Spaceport Cornwall later
this year.
The government agencies’ joint
Coordinated Ionospheric Reconstruction CubeSat
Experiment (CIRCE) is supported by the U.S.
Department of Defense’s Space Test Program (STP),
which is organized under the U.S. Space Force’s
Space Systems Command (SSC). CIRCE will utilize two
6U CubeSats flying in tandem formation to measure
the ionosphere and radiation environment from
multiple vantage points. The mission will support
the two countries’ joint development of a wide range
of civil and defense applications, including GPS,
radar, communication systems, and sensing
technology.
CIRCE will fly alongside other
previously announced international commercial
customers. In addition, the flight will feature the
first Welsh-built satellite supplied by U.K.
in-orbit manufacturing start up Space Forge, an
earth observation satellite supplied through a joint
project with Horizon Technologies and The Catapult –
the United Kingdom’s space-tech accelerator, as well
as the Kingdom of Oman’s first ever satellite.
Virgin Orbit’s first overseas
flight is expected to be the launcher’s fifth
consecutive mission carrying commercial and
government customers since it began operations in
2021. Virgin Orbit has successfully launched eight
previous STP satellites to orbit, demonstrating its
ability to launch from any airport with a spaceport
certificate.
“We are honored to host this
joint mission between the U.S. and U.K. Governments
on the launch from Cornwall,” said Virgin Orbit CEO
Dan Hart. “This demonstration, chosen to fly on the
United Kingdom’s first space launch from its
territory, exhibits the powerful value of
collaboration between our two countries and their
mutual commitment to delivering the full value of
space access for all.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to
work with our U.K. and U.S. mission partners to
execute this mission, which would achieve milestones
across multiple fronts,” said Mark Baird, Virgin
Orbit National Systems’ President. “We look forward
to continuing to accelerate the operationalization
of our capabilities with this mission and providing
space access from non-traditional locations—a
fundamental facet of our mission to provide a
broader space capability.”
“The NRL CIRCE Team is thrilled
to be a part of this joint US/UK mission,” said
Andrew Nicholas, a principal investigator with the
NRL’s CIRCE team. “We look forward to a successful
launch out of Spaceport Cornwall and are excited to
continue work with our UK partners once the CIRCE
science data starts flowing.”
“The CIRCE space weather
experiment will join a host of small satellites on
board Virgin Orbit’s first launch from the UK, and
it’s exciting to see the wide range of commercial,
academic and government partners who will share this
moment with us,” said Dr. Paul Bate, CEO of the UK
Space Agency. “We are on track to meet our ambition
of becoming the first country to offer commercial
launch services from Europe, catalysing investment
into our growing space sector and creating hundreds
of new jobs. I can’t wait to see Cosmic Girl take to
the skies above Spaceport Cornwall later this year.”
“Defence science and
technological activity in space has never been more
important, whether it is in support of military
operations or helping to combat climate change,
defence innovation is at the forefront of this
work,” said Air Vice-Marshall Paul Godfrey,
Commander of UK Space Command. “After it enters
orbit from Spaceport Cornwall, CIRCE will enhance
our understanding of space weather and help us to
keep critical satellites safe from the many hazards
associated with operating in space.”
“The countdown to Virgin
Orbit’s first launch from Spaceport Cornwall is on,
and it’s excellent to have another pair of
satellites confirmed for the mission,” said George
Freeman, UK Minister for Science, Research &
Innovation. “This is a strong demonstration of the
close ties between the U.K. and U.S. as we pioneer
new and innovative satellite technologies and build
global interest in Britain’s emerging launch
capabilities.”
“It’s an honour that UK and US
partnerships are to be launched from Cornwall and we
are proud to support the facilitation of these
international milestones,” said Melissa Thorpe, Head
of Spaceport Cornwall. “The mission aligns with
Spaceport Cornwall’s delivery of ‘space for good,’
by bringing together partners from across the planet
in a shared mission to support space-to-planet
communications and applications to benefit
humanity.”
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