Web Desk (National Times) – A mobile air-launched rocket system to be used in Britain\u2019s first domestic satellite launch could sow the seeds for a globally dispersed rapid-response capability to put extra eyes in space in times of war, executives and analysts said.<\/p>\n
Virgin Orbit (VORB.O), part-owned by billionaire Richard Branson, plans to launch nine satellites from a Launcher One rocket attached under the wing of a modified Boeing 747, to be flown from a new spaceport in Cornwall on Monday.<\/p>\n
Barring delays, it will be the first time a satellite has departed from western European soil.<\/p>\n
For now, the focus is on commercial payloads from companies such as Space Forge, which is developing in-orbit manufacturing.<\/p>\n
But the launch is also seen by many as a blueprint for quicker launches of limited satellite capacity for tactical military purposes, in what planners call \u201cResponsive Launch\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cUkraine woke up the world in a lot of ways,\u201d Virgin Orbit Chief Executive Dan Hart told a news conference in southwest England on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly there is a hope of a pan-European, as well as a U.S. collaboration … and that we have responsiveness so that if something happens in the world, we can get assets there right away,\u201d he told the pre-launch briefing, monitored online.<\/p>\n
Virgin Orbit said last year Britain\u2019s Royal Air Force was doing exercises to demonstrate the value of \u201cResponsive Launch\u201d.<\/p>\n
Britain had a brief foray into space launch activities in the late 1960s and early 1970s when its Black Arrow rocket was cancelled after just one successful mission.<\/p>\n
The rocket\u2019s four launches took place in Australia in an era when commercial satellites barely existed.<\/p>\n
Now, constellations of miniaturised satellites are heading an explosion of commercial activity in low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n
\u2018FLEXIBLE AND AGILE\u2019<\/p>\n
Lobbing small satellites into low orbit at short notice would do little more than fill temporary gaps in coverage from large spy satellites, but experts say the technology has some dual civil and military potential and could spread costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gives you greater resilience or redundancy or duality of systems, whether that\u2019s for position, navigation and timing or quicker access … as we\u2019ve seen in Ukraine,\u201d Ian Annett, deputy chief executive of the UK Space Agency, told Sunday\u2019s briefing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a natural transition that helps us develop security capabilities, but also, for government, keeps costs down whilst providing commercial opportunities as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX activated its Starlink constellation over Ukraine after Russia\u2019s invasion last February. Its communication links have been used by civilians and by Ukraine\u2019s military.<\/p>\n
Luxembourg said in October it had signed a letter of intent with Virgin Orbit to develop a \u201crapid and flexible response to different threats\u201d, for NATO and other allies.<\/p>\n
Its defence ministry has called for \u201cnew, more flexible and agile satellite launch procedures and techniques from Europe\u201d.<\/p>\n
Britain\u2019s own 2022-25 space roadmap calls for dual-use capabilities in Earth Observation and Space Domain Awareness.<\/p>\n
Virgin Orbit is also talking to Japan and Australia.<\/p>\n
Questions remain, however, over how quickly the mobile launch concept could work its way into actual budgets, which are dwarfed by U.S. spending on space.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is playing up military space as the next big thing,\u201d said UK-based defence analyst Francis Tusa. \u201cBut ministries of defence have eyes larger than their stomachs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The system\u2019s liquid propellant and final rocket assembly also require some local infrastructure, and Europe\u2019s crowded airspace has thrown up significant regulatory obstacles.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the moment, it\u2019s a bit bigger on the commercial side, but we see the defence and national security side growing so I think in this steady state, it\u2019ll probably end up being 50\/50,\u201d Hart told Reuters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Web Desk (National Times) – A mobile air-launched rocket system to be used in Britain\u2019s first domestic satellite launch could sow the seeds for a globally dispersed rapid-response capability to put extra eyes in space in times of war, executives and analysts said. Virgin Orbit (VORB.O), part-owned by billionaire Richard Branson, plans to launch nine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n