Date:	Monday 9 January 2023
Time:	00:43
Type:	Boeing 747-400
Owner/operator:	Virgin Galactic
Registration:	N744VG
MSN:	32745/1287
Year of manufacture:	2001
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants:
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	None
Location:	Spaceport Cornwall, Newquay Airport, Newquay, Cornwall -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Demo/Airshow/Display
Departure airport:	Newquay-Cornwall Airport (NQY/EGHQ)
Destination airport:	Newquay-Cornwall Airport (NQY/EGHQ)

Narrative:
Boeing 747-400 N744VG "Cosmic Girl": Making her first flight on 25 May 2020, a privately funded air-launched rocket, Launcher One, developed and built by Virgin Orbit, failed to reach space after release from Cosmic Girl over the Pacific Ocean. The second launch, on 17 January 2021, successfully delivered 10 CubeSats to low Earth orbit (LEO). Virgin Orbit's third launch (and first with commercial payloads, entitled "Tubular Bells") successfully launched on 30 June 2021. Launch 4 "Above the Clouds" successfully reached orbit on 13 January 2022. Launch 5 "Straight Up" successfully reached orbit on 1 July 2022.

After it was postponed several times due to regulatory issues, the sixth launch took place on 9 January 2023. The rocket failed to reach orbit. It was the first and only failure for Virgin Orbit with commercial payloads. This final launch for Virgin Orbit marked its first international launch and the first ever rocket launched from UK soil. The incident was the subject of an AAIB Investigation, the first to involve the UK’s Space Accident Investigation Authority (SAIA) and the following is an excerpt from the AAIB report, published on 3 October 2024:

"AAIB Statement on Launcher One launch failure: Failure to achieve orbit following launch from Spaceport Cornwall, 9 January 2023

Introduction
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), acting as the UK’s Space Accident Investigation Authority (SAIA), is responsible for the investigation of spaceflight accidents in accordance with The Spaceflight Activities (Investigation of Spaceflight Accidents) Regulations 2011

This statement summarises SAIA engagement with an investigation to determine why the Launcher One launch vehicle did not reach orbit following its launch from Spaceport Cornwall on 9 January 2023.

History of the launch
On 9 January 2023, the launch operator (hereafter the operator) attempted the first orbital launch from the UK, using Launcher One, a two-stage orbital launch vehicle (rocket) designed to be carried to the launch area and dropped from under the wing of a modified Boeing 747-400 (Cosmic Girl). The aim of the launch was to insert a payload of satellites into orbit.

The carrier aircraft departed from Spaceport Cornwall, Newquay Airport, which had been granted a Spaceport Licence by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The CAA had granted the operator a Spaceflight Operator Licence and a Range Control Licence

The launch was also licensed by the FAA, a requirement under the applicable US regulatory framework.
At 00:43 hrs on 10 January 2023, the SAIA was notified that the mission had not been successful. The rocket had been carried to the launch area and dropped from the carrier aircraft successfully but a fault in the second stage engine caused it to shut down before the stage achieved orbit.

Response to the launch failure
The launch was licensed by the by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as well as the CAA, and the FAA decided to carry out an investigation into what it termed a mishap

The SAIA may investigate spaceflight accidents10 occurring in or over the UK. Where a spaceflight accident occurs elsewhere than in or over the UK and another state is investigating, the SAIA may conduct a safety investigation only when requested by that state to assist with its investigation. On 11 February 2023 the FAA invited the SAIA to engage in ‘joint oversight’ of the operator’s technical investigation into the cause of the launch failure.

A stipulation of the launch failure TAA, which was approved after the launch failure, was that approval would be required from the Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA) before the operator could disclose to the SAIA technical data associated with its investigation, or investigators from the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA-AST) could disclose information from their discussions with the operator. The practical result of this requirement was that the SAIA was not provided with up-to-date information about the technical investigation as it progressed.

In early March 2023, four Inspectors from the SAIA visited the operator’s facilities in California. They were given briefings on investigation methodology, updated on some investigation findings, and visited the factory and testing facilities. The information given to the Inspectors was limited by export controls in that it did not reflect the most current information on the state of the investigation.

The SAIA was given access to a secure website to view historic export-controlled documents supporting the issue of Operator and Range Control licences and related to the operator’s Safety Case and Emergency Response Plan.

On 4 April 2023, the operator filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. The SAIA was informed by the FAA-AST that, although the operator’s investigation was continuing, the company had suspended its support for SAIA participation because of financial constraints imposed by the Chapter 11 process. The company subsequently ceased operating

1. AAIB Report 3 October 2024: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66feaae73b919067bb482bed/Boeing_747-400__modified__LauncherOne_Spaceflight.pdf
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_of_Mojave
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Orbit
4. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/09/business/virgin-orbit-uk-satellite-launch-scn/index.html
5. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jan/09/uks-first-orbital-rocket-mission-takes-off-from-cornwall
6. https://news.sky.com/story/uk-space-launch-live-updates-jumbo-jet-carrying-first-orbital-uk-rocket-takes-off-from-cornwall-12783096
7. https://spaceportcornwall.com/press-releases/starting-up-uk-launch-virgin-orbits-cosmic-girl-touches-down-at-spaceport-cornwall/
8. https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/10/23547986/uk-virgin-one-launcherone-rocket-orbit-mission-failure
9. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c625ej5n05go
10. https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/us/en/stories/cosmic-girl-a-stepping-stone-to-space.html
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newquay_Airport#Virgin_Orbit

Cosmic Girl was assembled in 2001 at the Boeing Everett Factory. It was configured as a 44/32/310-seat B747-41R, c/n. 32745. The aircraft\'s first flight was on 29 September 2001, and it was delivered to Virgin Atlantic on 31 October 2001, where she was registered as G-VWOW. She was named for the Jamiroquai song "Cosmic Girl".

On 3 November 2005, the aircraft was landing at Runway 27R at Heathrow Airport when a crosswind caused her to roll to the left, and the left-most (No. 1) engine struck the ground. The plane was transferred to Virgin Galactic in 2015 and re-registered in the United States as N744VG.

Cosmic Girl is currently based at Long Beach Airport. For the second operational flight of the Launcher One vehicle, however, the plane took off for a launch (which failed) from Newquay Airport, United Kingdom, on 9 January 2023.

Launch platform
The jetliner was in service with the airline until October 2015. The airliner, previously leased by Virgin Atlantic, was purchased outright by Virgin Group for Virgin Galactic, and re-registered as N744VG, in November 2015. A 747 was selected due to its carrying capacity. The acquisition of the 747 allowed the use of separate carrying aircraft for SpaceShipTwo and Launcher One. With the spinoff of Virgin Orbit in 2017, Cosmic Girl was also transferred.

Cosmic Girl and Launcher One on the way out to sea
The air launch to orbit Launcher One rocket was originally envisioned to operate from the smaller airplane White Knight Two (WK2) launch platform, used for the suborbital Tier 1b system of WK2 and SpaceShipTwo (SS2). As the size of Launcher One expanded to better encompass the marketplace and acquire market share of small launches, the rocket outgrew WK2, leading to the evaluation of bigger launch aircraft, and the acquisition of Cosmic Girl for Launcher One operations. The use of a larger airplane allows doubling of Launcher One payload capacity to 200 kilograms (440 lb), though with the selection of a 747, ultimately, 400 kilograms (880 lb) may be supported. 747s have previously been used to air launch other craft, including the Space Shuttle Enterprise. The use of Cosmic Girl marks the first use of a 747 as a space launch platform.

The Launcher One attachment pylon is situated on the left wing, where on a normal 747, the fifth engine attachment point is located for ferrying engines. This point is located between the fuselage and the left inboard engine. Launcher One would be dropped from Cosmic Girl at a height of 35,000 feet (11,000 m). The maximum payload limit for Launcher One operations on Cosmic Girl is 400 kilograms (880 lb).

Faulty fuel filter caused failed rocket launch https://t.co/wp0eSK3t1A

— BBC South West (@BBCSpotlight) October 3, 2024

Boeing 747 G-VWOW Cosmic Girl carrying Launcher One–only one flight of the Virgin Orbit system was carried out from Spaceport Cornwall Virgin Orbit 747 Cosmic Girl at Long Beach Airport, California (LGBN/KLGB) 11 January 2019: not amneded "Virgin Orbit" livery

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
06-Oct-2024 06:56	Dr. John Smith	Added