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Space

Virgin Orbit LauncherOne mated with Cosmic Girl

Virgin Orbit has today revealed the first full images of their rocket, ‘LauncherOne’, as it was ‘mated’ with Cosmic Girl for the first time at the Virgin Orbit base in Long Beach, California.

LauncherOne will be strapped to the bottom of the specially converted Virgin Atlantic plane named ‘Cosmic Girl’ and flown to an altitude of 30,000 feet where LauncherOne will detach and its thrusters will engage taking the rocket into outer space.

 LauncherOne, at 70feet long, is the length of two London buses, and will travel at astonishing speeds of over 20x the speed of sound (17,500mph). The rocket weighs 57,000 pounds or 25,800kg which is the equivalent to 25 small family cars.

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LauncherOne’s payload will carry satellites which could be as small as a loaf of bread or as large as a household refrigerator. The satellites will deliver everything from internet, in even the most remote regions, to advanced weather tracking systems to help in the battle against climate change.

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Airbus demonstrator to test global 5G connectivity in orbit

Space

Airbus demonstrator to test global 5G connectivity in orbit

14 January 2026

Airbus UpNext has launched a new demonstrator called Airbus UpNext SpaceRAN (Space Radio Access Network) - aimed at enabling standardised global connectivity by exploring advanced 5G Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) capabilities - working with consortium partners including Southampton based AccelerComm.

ODU Connectors showcasing AMC solutions at SDSC-UK

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ESA and ClearSpace initiate PRELUDE

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NI SPACE launches Space Ready Programme

Space

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Airbus awarded Eutelsat contract for 340 OneWeb LEO satellites

Space

Airbus awarded Eutelsat contract for 340 OneWeb LEO satellites

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SSTL and Oxford Space Systems confirm launch of CarbSAR IOD Satellite

Space

SSTL and Oxford Space Systems confirm launch of CarbSAR IOD Satellite

12 January 2026

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) and Oxford Space Systems (OSS) have announced the launch of CarbSAR IOD, SSTL’s latest Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology demonstration satellite incorporating Oxford Space Systems’ Wrapped Rib Antenna, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket operated by SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.

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