Virgin Orbit to launch STEM payloads
Missions will be affixed to LauncherOne’s upper stage
MOJAVE — Virgin Orbit has announced that it will launch Science, Technology, Engineering and Math payloads for a UK-based company.
Junior Astronaut and Virgin Orbit announced the launch services agreement on Friday in which a Nanonaut payload by Junior Astronaut will be onboard several upcoming missions and will remain affixed to LauncherOne’s upper stage. Some missions will include those flying out of Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay, UK.
“With every LauncherOne mission, we want to chip away at the barriers preventing equitable access to space, so this partnership with Junior Astronaut is particularly meaningful to our
team,” said Stephen Eisele, Virgin Orbit’s vice president of business development. “These Nanonauts are all about getting students to recognize that they too can have a role in shaping the future of space, and we’re really ex
cited to help bring them into the fold. These are the kinds of missions that will capture the hearts and minds of tomorrow’s space innovators.”
Each Nanonaut payload can be tracked and monitored via telemetry from
Earth using Junior Astronaut’s smartphone app. The app also offers a number of STEM-based activities such as algebra tutorials and other educational teasers, supporting Junior Astronaut’s broader purpose of inspiring
young students to become more engaged and excited about space.
Miranda Ashcroft, a Junior Astronaut co-founder, said knowledge is the most powerful tool for shaping a
better future for everyone.
“The Junior Astronaut program is designed to inspire young people to push the limits of the unknown, to discover and innovate,” she said. “The way to do this is education. Space is such an inspirational way to get people interested. We want space to be accessible to everyone, and for the next generation to push boundaries and move all our societies forward. Space is how they will do this.”
Junior Astronaut was founded in 2020 and exists to encourage young people toward careers in STEM and space science through participation. In addition to the Nanonaut program, Junior Astronaut will soon offer space camps and a flight experiments package to take young people’s interest to the next stage.
Virgin Orbit is in the midst of final preparations for Launch Demo 2, its second orbital test flight with the LauncherOne system, currently expected to occur in mid-January. Launches for Junior Astronaut will commence no earlier than mid2021.