Virgin Orbit has received approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to use the runways of Andersen Air Force Base to conduct future launches of small satellites through the LauncherOne rocket. However, the agency has suspended Richard Branson's conglomerate firm, Virgin Galactic, for the time being.
The action occurred after the Virgin Group's founder and CEO went on a "dangerous" vacation. As a result, they cannot conduct any launches or missions until the regulatory agency investigates the July mission.
Richard Branson has safely returned to Earth following his July 11 journey, indicating nothing wrong with the crew's experience as they traveled to the edge of space. However, it appears that this was not the whole story, as an investigation is now ongoing.
This was followed by a trip in July with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, which is currently embroiled in a dispute about leaving employees and personnel.
Virgin Orbit 'Clears' the FAA Approval Process for Small Satellite Launches From Guam
According to Space.com, the FAA has granted Virgin Orbit permission to launch small satellites from Andersen Air Force Base. The port is located on Guam's northern point, on the western side of the Pacific Ocean.
MOJAVE, CA - DECEMBER 7: Virgin Galactic unveils its new SpaceShipTwo spacecraft at the Mojave Spaceport on December 7, 2009 near Mojave, California. The eight-person VSS Enterprise, named after the Star Trek ship of the same name, is the first of a series of space-planes for customers of Virgin Galactic who have paid around $200,000 for a suborbital flight into space. British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson is financing the spacecraft and aerospace designer Burt Rutan is building it through The Spaceship Company, a joint venture of Scaled Composites and Virgin Group. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
While the facility has served as a US military base for decades, it may soon become a new launch site for Virgin Orbit, a private rocket company.
Space.com, citing FAA, said Virgin Orbit plans to launch a maximum of 25 small satellites into various low earth orbits between 2021 and 2025. The FAA has said that the conclusion of the environmental evaluation process does not ensure that Virgin Orbit will be granted a launch license.
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So far, Virgin Orbit has launched from the Mojave Air and Space Port, which is roughly an hour and a 30 minutes away from Los Angeles in the California desert. However, the firm has been looking to expand its activities to other regions of the world.
FAA Suspends Virgin Galactic Flights
Despite the recent approval, CNN said Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic has been grounded. This means that any flights to space in the following months are likewise on hold while the inquiry is ongoing. This was due to a concern raised after the trip, which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate the firm.
According to Nicholas Schmidle of the New Yorker, there were many danger lights on Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo dashboard while the firm was on its way to its goal.
The group ignored this and continued on to their objective, returning to Earth. Furthermore, Schmidle said the FAA initiated an investigation into the spaceflight, which was alleged to have "jeopardized" the crew's life.
Before considering its next space voyage or boarding its aircraft, Virgin Galactic would have to wait for the FAA inquiry to be completed. However, the firm has stated that it would not do so shortly since it will take a break from its space projects until October.
Virgin Galactic has announced that it will postpone its flights to prepare for its big October trip, which will be its first commercial research mission. The Unity 23 would be developed in collaboration with the Italian Air Force and a joint enterprise between the two European nations.
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