Virgin Orbit Blames ‘Dislodged’ Fuel Filter for UK Launch Failure

Virgin Orbit says the failure of its first attempted orbital launch from UK soil was likely caused by a dislodged fuel filter.

An ongoing investigation—jointly overseen by the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch and US Federal Aviation Administration—corroborated Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart’s suspicion that it was “a $100 part that took us out.”

“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 Orbit said in a statement(Opens in a new window). “Additional data shows 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.”

That resulted in the engine operating at a “significantly higher-than-rated” temperature. Nearby components eventually malfunctioned, causing the second stage thrust to terminate prematurely.

“In space launch, a failure is painful for all involved,” Hart said in a statement. “Intense disappointment gets quickly channeled into the motivation to dig into the cause, to understand all contributing elements and to thereby get back to flight with a better system and a wiser team.”

It wasn’t all bad news for the UK launch team, though: Everything from pre-flight preparations to deployment of the LauncherOne rocket went as planned, marking numerous first-of-its-kind achievements for Virgin Orbit.

“Our investigation is not yet complete; the team is hard at work and we’ll pursue the cause and contributors to wherever the system analysis takes us,” Hart said. “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.

“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.”

The spaceflight company’s next launch is for a commercial customer; it’s set to take off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. There is no word yet on when it will make another attempt in the UK.