The Los Angeles-based launch, which hopes to launch satellites into orbit via a rocket launched from the wing of the 747 aircraft, has consistently tweeted that infection rates in the area are “skyrocketing” and that Virgin’s orbital contact tracking has enabled many crews to “log in to precautionary isolation”. The company does not have enough staff to support it.
Like other aerospace companies in the United States, the Virgin Orbiter is allowed to continue operating throughout the epidemic because in March the government considered the aerospace sector the country’s “critical infrastructure”. An industry group has argued that the industry’s business operations are intertwined with important U.S. national security programs and NASA programs.
Virgin Orbit rotates from Virgin Galactic, which focuses on sending tourists in 2017 on sorbitol flights that reach an altitude of about 50 miles.
Virgin Orbit said it aims to launch a second test launch pad by the end of this year, and a Federal Aviation Administration-certified launch is scheduled for this weekend.
But after completing a contact tracking attempt last Friday, the company said it would be able to make a “clear-sighted assessment before proceeding” as it decided to halt the final fuel test of its rocket midway through the operation.
“As far as the deadline associated with accurate Govt-19 test results is concerned, this will affect our release schedule,” the tweet posted on Virgin Orbit’s account said. “We are now evaluating that impact and we will be ready to fly soon, but the health of our team and their families is at the forefront of our decisions.”