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Introducing Our Next Mission
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With our pre-launch preparation now officially underway, we’re delighted to tell you more about our next mission, which is on track to launch soon. We invite you to turn your attention skyward, to a mission we have dubbed Above the Clouds. The Mission Manifest includes:
The U.S. Department of Defense, which is launching several Research and Development (R&D) satellites from multiple government agencies that are experiments in space-based communications and in-space navigation, as well as a university payload sponsored by NASA; and Polish company SatRevolution, which is launching two nanosatellites, one with a focus on the agricultural sector and one related to water-fueled thrusters for in-space propulsion.
The mission name Above the Clouds pays homage to hip hop sensation Gang Starr’s album, Moment of Truth. Released on March 31, 1998, by Virgin Records in collaboration with Noo Trybe Records, Moment of Truth is widely regarded as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. The song titled Above the Clouds, featuring Inspectah Deck of Wu-Tang Clan, appears as the fifth track – and Virgin Orbit’s favorite.
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On Wednesday, November 17, CEO Dan Hart joined other company and industry leaders for a public Investor Day to explore the new heights we're rocketing to. During this online presentation, leadership outlined our strategies and opportunities for growth.
"We are seeing a huge appetite for the US and allies to work together in space... We’re seeing ourselves become an instrument of that," said Dan.
Thanks to everyone who joined in real time! To catch up on this and previous presentations, and learn more about Virgin Orbit’s plans to go public, check out virginorbit.com/investors.
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Bringing Air Launch to Asia
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Earlier this month, we announced that the owners of Japan's largest airline, ANA HOLDINGS INC., are set to procure twenty flights of the LauncherOne rocket and to lead the effort to provide funds and support for those orbital missions to launch from Japan's Oita Prefecture. This new space port will be ready by the end of 2022, pending regulatory approvals in the United States and Japan.
Japan’s aerospace industry has long been at the forefront of satellite technology innovation. However, the available launch services in Japan – and throughout all of Asia – have always been launched from fixed sites on the ground. Supported by ANA’s premier logistics and transport services, Virgin Orbit is set to change that by bringing air-launch to the Eastern Hemisphere for the first time in history.
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Soaring into Sustainability
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In other big partnership news, we recently announced an MOU with Astroscale Holdings, Inc., the market leader in satellite servicing and long-term orbital sustainability across all orbits. Astroscale is planning dozens of missions over the next decade and is looking to launch as many as 10 of those on our LauncherOne. We are also working toward a future joint mission concept focused on satellite servicing.
Astroscale and Virgin Orbit share a vision of creating a sustainable space environment and will explore areas of cooperation on policy and regulatory efforts in the fields of space sustainability, space debris removal, government partnerships, launch and on-orbit servicing spectrum allocation. |
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Taking the Industry to New Heights
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- Dan Hart, CEO Virgin Orbit
- Susan Helms, United States Air Force lieutenant general and NASA astronaut (ret.), member NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel and member of the Board of Trustees for the Aerospace Corporation
- Evan Lovell, Chief Investment Officer, Virgin Group
- George Mattson, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, NextGen
- Katharina (Katrina) McFarland, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Chairman of the Board of Army Research and Development at the National Academies of Science
- Abdulla Mohamed Shadid, Executive Director, Growth and M&A – Direct Investments Platform, Mubadala
- Gregory Summe, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, NextGen
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2021 ASCEND Virtual Conference
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"We've taken a different approach from all of our competitors," said Dan Hart to Fox Business recently. "We're using the flexibility of air launch, but we can really enter markets that are not entered right now, as well as use the efficiency of an airplane and basically reduce the cost of the rocket." |
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That's What We're Talking About
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Dan talked with Cheddar News about our history-making agreement with ANA to bring air-launch services to the Eastern Hemisphere.
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In other news, Dan discussed Above the Clouds and going global with Morgan Brennan on Squawk on the Street.
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