LONDON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket blasted into Earth's lower orbit to deploy its satellites at midnight on Monday. It marks the first orbital mission to begin from UK soil or from anywhere in Western Europe.
"The first satellites launched from UK soil are now in space!" the UK Space Agency (UKSA) tweeted.
The UK's first rocket launch mission Start Me Up lifted off Monday evening. Cosmic Girl, a former Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747, took off at 10:01 p.m. GMT from Spaceport Cornwall with the LauncherOne rocket under its wing. ■
