Virgin Galactic launches 10 satellites to orbit in landmark test flight
Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit, with a rocket underneath the wing of a modified Boeing 747 jetliner, prior to its takeoff on a key drop test of its high-altitude launch system for satellites from Mojave, California
Billionaire Richard Branson’sVirginOrbitreached space on Sunday, eight months after the first demonstration flight of its air-launched rocket system failed, the company said.
The Long Beach, California-based company’s LauncherOne rocket successfully deployed 10tiny satellites in orbit for NASA.
The launch occurred after the Boeing 747-400 took off from Mojave Air and Space Port in the desert north of Los Angeles and flew out over the Pacific Ocean to a drop point beyond the Channel Islands.
"According to telemetry, LauncherOne has reached orbit!" the company announced on Twitter during the test mission, dubbed Launch Demo 2. "In both a literal and figurative sense, this is miles beyond how far we reached in our first Launch Demo."
The rocket, a 70-foot launcher tailored for carrying small satellites to space, aimed to place 10 tiny satellites in orbit for NASA roughly two hours into the mission, thoughVirginOrbit had not confirmed whether they were deployed as planned.
The successful test and clean payload deployment was a needed double-win forVirginOrbit, which last year failed its attempt to reach space when LauncherOne’s main engine shut down prematurely moments after releasing from its carrier aircraft. The shortened mission generated key test data for the company, it said.
Sunday’s test also thrustsVirginOrbit into an increasingly competitive commercial space race, offering a unique “air-launch” method of sending satellites to orbit alongside rivals such as Rocket Lab and Firefly Aerospace, which have designed small-launch systems to inject smaller satellites into orbit and meet growing demand.
Virginexecutives say high-altitude launches allow satellites to be placed in their intended orbit more efficiently and also minimize weather-related cancellations compared to more traditional rockets launched vertically from a ground pad.
VirginOrbit’s government services subsidiary VOX Space LLC is selling launches using the system to the USmilitary, with a first mission slated for October under a $35 million USSpace Force contract for three missions.