SPACE LAUNCH REPORT Virgin Orbit LauncherOne Flight History by Variant/Year (2020-2023) by Ed Kyle, Last Update December 31, 2023 L(F) = Number of Launches(Number of Failures) LauncherOne Grand Total Year L(F) L(F) L(F) L(F) L(F) ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2020 1(1) - - - 1(1) 2021 2(0) - - - 2(0) 2022 2(0) - - - 2(0) 2023 1(1) - - - 1(1) ------------------------------------------------------------------ LauncherOne Grand Total L(F) L(F) L(F) L(F) L(F) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Suborb - - - - - Orbit 6(2) - - - 6(2) Total 6(2) - - - 6(2) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Footnotes: ------------------------------------------------------------------ Vehicle Configurations ------------------------------------------------------------------ LEO Length GLOW Payload (meters) (tonnes) (tonnes) [1] 200 km x 28.5 deg [2] 500 km x 98.6 deg ================================================================== LauncherOne 0.500 t [1] 21.33 m 25.8 t 0.300 t [2] ================================================================== LauncherOne drop launched by 747-400 "Cosmic Girl" Stg 1 (NewtonThree) + Stg 2 (NewtonFour) + PLF, all-composite * LEO: Low Earth Orbit Vehicle Components ------------------------------------------------------------------ Stg 1 Stg 2 Payload Fairing ================================================================== Diameter (m) 1.623 m 1.27 m 1.27 m Length (m) ~15 m ~1.3 m ~5 m GLOW (tonnes) ~23 t ~3 t ~0.1 t Mb/o (tonnes) ~3 t ~0.25 t Engine 1 x NewtonThree 1 x NewtonFour Engine Mfgr Virgin Orbit Virgin Orbit Fuel Kerosene Kerosene Oxidizer LOX LOX T(SL t) 33.339 t - T(Vac t) - 2.27 t ISP (SL sec) - - ISP (Vac sec) s s Tburn (sec) ~180 sec ~360 sec No. Engines 1 1 ================================================================== Gas Generator engines Comprehensive Launch List Date Vehicle ID Payload Mass Site Orbit ------------------------------------------------------------------ 05/25/20 LauncherOne F1 Launch Demo MO [FTO] 01/17/21 LauncherOne F2 Launch Demo 2 ELaNa-20 0.286 MO LEO 06/30/21 LauncherOne F3 Tubular Bells 1 (7 usats) MO LEO 01/13/22 LauncherOne F4 Above Clouds (7 usats) 0.03 MO LEO 07/02/22 LauncherOne F5 Straght Up (STP-28A) ~0.06 MO LEO 01/09/23 LauncherOne F6 Start it Up CW [FTO] ------------------------------------------------------------------ [F1] Failed shortly after Stg 1 ignition after drop from Cosmic Girl SW of Long Beach, CA. Launch Demo planned to LEO including two Stg 2 burns. [F5] Two Stg 2 burns to 500 km x 45 deg. 7 Cubesats for DoD. [F6] Failed to orbit. Stg 2 issue. Planned 555 km SSO. 7 microsats. A filter in the rocket's second stage propulsion system dislodged "and caused mischief downstream" that led to a premature shutdown of the engine. Virgin Orbit said that the fuel filter for the second-stage NewtonFour engine had been dislodged from its normal position. The fuel pump downstream of that filter "operated at a degraded efficiency level", reducing the amount of fuel reaching the engine. That, in turn, caused the engine to operate at a higher temperature than it was rated for. The company said that components downstream and in the vicinity of the overheated engine malfunctioned, which led to the premature shutdown of the engine. After this failure, Virgin Orbit was shut down and dissolved by mid-year. ------------------------------------------------------------------ FTO = Failed to Orbit FSO = Failed Suborbital MO = Mojave Space Port, California CW = Cornwall, UK References: Jonathan's Space Report Launch Vehicle Database "http://www.planet4589.org/space/lvdb/index.html" Encylopedia Astronautica "http://www.astronautix.com/" Gunter's Space Page "http://www.skyrocket.de/space"