Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:VORB) said its investigations indicate a dislodged fuel filter may be behind the failure of the attempted orbital launch of its LauncherOne rocket from the United Kingdom on January 9, 2023.
The commercial space company said in a statement on February 14 that it began its investigation into the failure within hours of the conclusion of the mission with the data indicating that from the beginning of the second stage first burn, a fuel filter within the fuel feedline had been dislodged from its normal position.
Additional data showed that the fuel pump that is downstream of the filter operated at a degraded efficiency level, resulting in the Newton 4 engine being starved for fuel and in turn operating at a significantly higher-than-rated engine temperature, Virgin Orbit said.
READ: Virgin Orbit says investigation suggests cheap filter caused UK flight failure
Components downstream and in the vicinity of the abnormally hot engine eventually malfunctioned, causing the second stage thrust to terminate prematurely and end the mission and its second stage, with payloads falling back to Earth.
Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said the company’s investigation was not yet complete with the team hard at work to pursue the cause and contributors to wherever the system analysts take them.
“However, with many clear clues from extensive data assessment now understood, we are modifying our next rocket with a more robust filter and we are looking broadly to assure that all credible contributors to mission failure are rooted out and addressed,” Hart said.
“With those modifications being incorporated on our factory floor, we will proceed cautiously toward the launch of our next rocket, which is well into the integration and test process.”
Virgin Orbit added that its next launch will occur from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California for a commercial customer. The company said it anticipates announcing more details about that mission in the coming weeks.
‘Space is hard,’ analysts note
“Space is difficult, but the majority of cash is collected well before launch and insurance covers most of it,” analysts at Water Tower Research wrote in a note to clients following Virgin Orbit’s update.
The analysts noted that while the company’s UK effort in Cornwall is the highest profile international effort, others were progressing with Virgin Orbit having signed deals with Luxembourg, Wagner in Australia, J-Space in South Korea, iQPS in Japan, and the Government of Poland.
They highlighted that Virgin Orbit’s simple and reliable LauncherOne rocket achieves a significant performance advantage over grounded launch sites, beginning each mission at approximately 35,000 feet above sea level and already travelling at a high speed.
“The mobility of the system also allows Virgin Orbit to bring launch capabilities to dozens of nations that currently have space agencies and satellite industries but no domestic launch capability,” they wrote.
“Virgin Orbit’s ability to launch responsively from any location around the world also gives it a valuable national security role in ensuring the resiliency and replaceability of critical satellite infrastructure assets.”
Virgin Orbit's shares were trading flat at US$1.58 at noon on Wednesday.
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