Virgin Orbit all set for first-ever launch from UK soil on Jan 10; where to watch LIVE?

Virgin Orbit is just a day away from carrying out the first-ever orbital launch from the UK soil on January 10. Named 'Start Me Up', the mission will see the California-based firm launch its Cosmic Girl 747 plane with nine satellites that will be deployed in the low-Earth orbit (LEO).

The plane will take off from the Cornwall spaceport in the UK at 3:46 am IST clocking in many other firsts-- the first international launch for Virgin Orbit and the first commercial launch from western Europe; launch of the first satellite from Oman, the first satellite built in Wales and more.

Interestingly, the mission has been named after a song of the same name that was released in 1981 by the English rock band The Rolling Stones.

Where to watch the launch live?

Virgin Orbit will live stream the launch on January 10 starting at 2:30 am IST on its official YouTube channel. You can also tune in to the company's official website and other social media handles for the live stream. As mentioned above, this will be the first-ever orbital launch from the UK, and the fifth operational mission for Virgin Orbit, and the sixth overall flight of LauncherOne.

Mission profile and why it's special?

(Image: Virgin Orbit)

Unlike the usual vertical launch method, Virgin Orbit has an unconventional style of launching satellites. It uses a modified 747-400 carrier aircraft named Cosmic Girl which has a liquid-fueled 70-foot-long horizontal launch vehicle named LauncherOne attached to its belly. 

(LauncherOne; Image: Virgin Orbit)

For 'Start Me Up' Cosmic Girl will first climb to an altitude of 35,000 feet (roughly 10 km) after taking off from Cornwall and release LauncherOne which will carry the nine satellites. After the release, the rocket will ignite its first stage engine five seconds later for three minutes to reach a higher altitude before its second stage separates. The second stage, which has the fairing (component with satellites encased inside), will fire its own engine for the next six minutes to reach the desired orbit of 555 km. 

(Cosmic Girl; Image: Virgin Orbit)

Virgin Orbit received the funding for the mission from the UK Space Agency with the US Department of Defense, the Uk's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as key partners. Since its operations began in 2021, Virgin Orbit has successfully launched 33 satellites designed to monitor climate change and regarding national security for both government and private partners.