A dislodged fuel filter on the LauncherOne rocket caused an engine to overheat, leading to to the malfunction of components and the premature shutdown of the UK launch.
The launch took place from Spaceport Cornwall on 9 January this year aboard a customised Boeing 747 that served as the LauncherOne system’s carrier aircraft. Hundreds of members of the public were watching the launch in person and over 75,000 were set to be viewing a live stream of the event.
The rocket was successfully released from the aircraft and its engines ignited, taking it into space at a speed of more than 11,000 miles per hour (around 18,000km/h).
However, at some point after stage separation and ignition of the second stage, the mission ended prematurely, with the reason remaining a mystery until today.
“The data is 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,” Virgin...