The UK space launch by Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:VORB) has not been delayed due to the nascent UK regulatory process but is down to issues at the company.
It was revealed this morning that the New York-listed company had delayed what was expected to be the first orbital space launch from UK soil after being given a launch window of next Wednesday and Thursday.
Although it is the country's first launch, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it was not the source of the delay.
“The UK space regulation process is not a barrier to a UK space launch," said Tim Johnson, director for space regulation at the CAA.
“Virgin Orbit has said in its statement this morning that there are some technical issues that will need to be resolved before launch. These in no way relate to the timing of when a licence will be issued by the Civil Aviation Authority.”
Spaceport Cornwall last month received its licence as the first registered spaceport in the UK, which the CAA noted also permits Virgin Orbit to undertake its testing programme prior to launch.
Virgin Obit said in a statement this morning that licences were “still outstanding for the launch itself and for the satellites within the payload”, that “additional technical work” was needed to establish its systems, and the launch window of two days was “very limited”.
Johnson said the CAA's dedicated space regulation team has been “working closely with all partners to assess applications and issue the remaining licences within the timelines we set at the outset”, and was continuing to work with the company and other stakeholders to help deliver a safe launch.