Virgin Orbit completes final launch rehearsal

Virgin Orbit announced the successful completion of its wet dress rehearsal today prior to its third launch carrying U.S. Department of Defense and commercial satellites to Low Earth Orbit.

Virgin Orbit team completing final technical rehearsal of LauncherOne R5 for January flight (Photo: Business Wire)

Virgin Orbit, which has announced a planned business combination with NextGen Acquisition Corp. II  completed a full wet dress rehearsal of its air-launched LauncherOne satellite delivery service, taking the integrated system through a full run of procedures to verify the health of the system and the preparedness of the team just prior to the Christmas break. 

“The successful completion of this final major test has us heading into the holiday season with excellent momentum and high confidence for our Above the Clouds launch,” said Chief Operating Officer Tony Gingiss. “It’s been an incredible year, delivering 19 satellites to orbit and ramping up our factory for 2022 – our team has earned a joyous and restful holiday with their families.”

With this critical test successfully completed and the bonus of adding an additional satellite to the payload stack earlier this month, Virgin Orbit is tracking towards a launch in January 2022. The launch window is set to open on January 12th, 2022, and the launch itself will be live-streamed to the public. The spacecraft to be launched for this mission include satellites for the US Department of Defense’s Space Test Program, Polish company SatRevolution, and Spire Global, Inc. Virgin Orbit has safely loaded the spacecraft in the vehicle’s payload adapter, and they are slated for delivery to the Mojave Air and Space Port in early January.

Virgin Orbit operates one of the most flexible and responsive space launch systems ever built. Founded by Sir Richard Branson in 2017, the company began commercial service in 2021, and has already delivered commercial, civil, national security, and international satellites into orbit. Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rockets are designed and manufactured in Long Beach, California, and are air-launched from a modified 747- 400 carrier aircraft that allows Virgin Orbit to operate from locations all over the world in order to best serve each customer’s needs. On August 22, 2021, Virgin Orbit entered into a definitive agreement to combine with NextGen Acquisition Corp. II), a special purpose acquisition company, which would result in Virgin Orbit becoming a publicly listed company on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol VORB. 

Virgin Orbit team completing final technical rehearsal of LauncherOne R5 for January flight (Photo: Business Wire)

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