Advancing UK Aerospace, Defence, Security & Space Solutions Worldwide
  • Home
  • /
  • Aerospace
  • /
  • One More Orbit team take on Pole to Pole World Circumnavigation Speed Record

Aerospace

One More Orbit team take on Pole to Pole World Circumnavigation Speed Record

To mark the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 moon landing and the 500th anniversary first global circumnavigation, Action Aviation Chairman Hamish Harding and Astronaut Terry Virts, will attempt to beat the world record for any aircraft flying over the North and South poles from 9th to 11th July 2019, supported by the One More Orbit team.


Courtesy Action Aviation

Flying a Qatar Executive Gulfstream G650ER aircraft, they will off-set their emissions by going carbon negative with the help of sponsor, Carbon Underground.
 
Who
Capt. Hamish Harding - United Kingdom, Action Aviation chairman, mission director and one of the 4 G650ER pilots; Col. Terry Virts - United States, Former International Space Station commander, Space Shuttle astronaut, Soyuz astronaut and US Air Force test pilot; Capt. Jacob Ove Bech - Denmark, Pilot; Capt. Jeremy Ascough - South Africa, Pilot; Capt. Yevgen Vasilienko - Ukraine, Pilot; Magdalena Starowicz - Poland, Flight Attendant; Col. Genaddy Padalka - Russia, Cosmonaut (International Space Station commander, Mir and Soyuz cosmonaut, record holder for the most days in space by any human - 879 days); Capt. Ian Cameron - United Kingdom, Director of the Mission Control Centre.

Advertisement
ODU RT

 
When
The One More Orbit mission launches at 09:32 on 9th July – the same time as the historic Apollo 11 flight.
 
Where
The team will launch will launch from and return to Space Florida's Launch and Landing Facility (the former Shuttle Landing Facility) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, from where Apollo 11 launched its historic mission 50 years ago. They will do high speed, adrenaline pumping  “pit stops” to refuel in Kazakhstan, Mauritius and Chile.
 
Why
The mission, titled One More Orbit, pays tribute to the Apollo 11 moon landing achievement, by highlighting how humans push the boundaries of aeronautics. The record is being attempted during the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Apollo 11 moon landing and the 500th anniversary of man first circling the planet. It is a tribute to the past, present, and future of space exploration.
 
Advertisement
ODU RT

The Aircraft
The fastest ultra-long-range business jet in the world, the Gulfstream G650ER is capable of reaching Mach 0.925 and sustaining a comfortable Mach 0.90. Powered by two Rolls-Royce BR725 A1-12 Turbofans, generating 16,900 lbs of thrust, the extended range variant is capable of flying 7,500 nautical  miles (13,900 km) at up to 51,000 feet altitude. The Qatar Executive G650ER aircraft can easily fly non-stop from the Middle East to North America, or from destinations in Asia to Africa. It flies further, faster than any other jet of its kind – perfectly suited for the long legs of One More Orbit.
 
Going Carbon Negative
“The Carbon Underground is proud to be a partner of this historic mission,” said Larry Kopald, the company’s co-founder and president. “By calling attntion to one of humankind’s greatest efforts we remind ourselves of what we are capable of doing. Alleviating the existential threat of climate change by restoring the carbon balance and cycle will take a similar effort, with a similar commitment to speed.”
 
Sponsoring the mission are: Satcom Direct and inmarsat, which are providing the satellite bandwidth and live feed from the aircraft; G-Technology hard drives; Action Aviation leadership logistics; LiveU encoder; and Space Florida. Carbon Underground brings the means to make this mission carbon negative.
 
 

Advertisement
FIA2026 animated banner
NATS invests in carbon removals with CUR8

Aerospace

NATS invests in carbon removals with CUR8

9 June 2026

NATS has committed £500k to carbon removals through carbon removals intelligence provider CUR8, contributing to an initiative led by the UK Sustainable Aviation coalition, to stimulate the carbon removals market as part of a £2 million Advance Market Signal.

HutanBio partners with Wakud on scalable SAF feedstocks

Aerospace

HutanBio partners with Wakud on scalable SAF feedstocks

9 June 2026

Cambridge biotechnology company HutanBio, which is developing algae-derived oils for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), has signed its first commercial offtake Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Oman's Wakud International, as the aviation industry searches for new feedstock sources capable of supporting future SAF demand.

Tekever and Sapient Perception to explore airborne ISR sensing integration

Aerospace Security Space

Tekever and Sapient Perception to explore airborne ISR sensing integration

9 June 2026

Tekever and Sapient Perception have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the integration and evaluation of Sapient Perception’s 10K camera system on Tekever uncrewed aerial systems.

Barrow school to launch technical education pathway

Aerospace Defence

Barrow school to launch technical education pathway

8 June 2026

Walney School in Barrow-in-Furness is going to be introducing an innovative employer-led technical education pathway in September, which aims to equip young people with the skills for high-quality careers and to help local employers tackle skills shortages.

Advertisement
ODU RT
FAC and Defence Connect link up

Aerospace

FAC and Defence Connect link up

5 June 2026

Farnborough Aerospace Consortium (FAC) and Defence Connect have announced a partnership which brings together industry leaders, policymakers, researchers and innovators in Westminster to explore the most pressing challenges and opportunities in defence.

MGI Engineering expands into Italy with Vigilar Group

Aerospace Defence Security

MGI Engineering expands into Italy with Vigilar Group

5 June 2026

Oxfordshire based MGI Engineering has entered into a strategic partnership with Vigilar Group, marking MGI’s expansion into Italy and a significant new phase of growth across Europe.

Advertisement
ODU RT
Advertisement
FIA2026 animated banner