British National Space Centre Offers Funding For Satellite Launch Development

A proposed collaboration between WhiteKnightTwo developer Virgin Galactic and Surrey Satellite Technology has obtained the promise of financial backing from the British government to develop LauncherOne, a project designed to place satellites into earth orbit.

The Register reports a senior official from the British National Space Centre has promised funding to see the project "through to the end." Although originally designed to carry affluent tourists for a brief hop into sub-orbital space in SpaceShipTwo, the WhiteKnightTwo will be adapted to carry small satellites as payloads in LauncherOne, a rocket specifically developed for that purpose.

Surrey Satellite Technology executive Philip Davies said, "Two thirds of our missions are spacecraft below 200kg, and launch availability is a real challenge for us."

The project employs concepts already in use by Orbital Sciences, whose Pegasus rocket has successfully put over twenty satellites into orbit launched from a modified TriStar airliner over the last decade.

As ANN reported, WhiteKnightTwo made its maiden flight last December. Powered by four Pratt & Whitney PW308A turbofans, the WK2 mothership is capable not only of carrying passengers in SpaceShipTwo, but also of lifting payloads and launching them into space into low earth orbit.

FMI: www.virgingalactic.com, www.sstl.co.uk