Virgin Orbit

LauncherOne is a two-stage rocket that is deployed from a modified 747

Space

Virgin Orbit plans first private satellite mission to Mars

Virgin Orbit has revealed plans for the first commercial satellite mission to Mars, where a new breed of tiny probes could help study the Red Planet.

LauncherOne was released from Cosmic Girl mid-flight for the first time earlier this year

Space

Virgin Orbit releases a rocket from airborne 747 for the first time

Virgin Orbit is developing a launch system to carry satellites into space using a rocket mounted to the wing of a modified 747. The team has today ticked off what it calls a significant milestone, carrying said rocket into the air and releasing it over the Californian desert for the first time.

Sunday's test flight was the first carrying LauncherOne

Aircraft

Virgin Orbit's "flying launchpad" completes first captive carry flight

Virgin Orbit's Cosmic Girl took to the skies over Southern California on November 18, 2018 carrying a 70-ft-long (21-m) rocket for the first time. The specially modified 747-400 aircraft with the LauncherOne booster under its port wing took off from Victorville, California on an 80-min test flight.

Virgin Orbit is another Virgin spinoff that, much like its close relative Virgin Galactic, is hoped to lift Branson’s business operations out beyond the stratosphere

Space

Virgin Orbit attaches first booster to its 747-turned-rocket launcher

Virgin Orbit is now one step closer to firing satellites into space using rockets launched from the wing of a 747 after successfully integrating its LauncherOne rocket into its Cosmic Girl mothership ahead of the first test flights.

Virgin Orbit's Cosmic Girl mothership in action

Space

Virgin Orbit fixes rocket-carrying pylons to Cosmic Girl mothership

Virgin Orbit is edging ever closer to its goal of firing rockets into space from an airborne 747, with the pylons that will carry its two-stage orbital launch vehicle, LauncherOne, to altitude now firmly fixed to the wing of its Cosmic Girl Mothership.

Cosmic Girl, the former Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747-400 aircraft that is now the flagship of Virgin Orbit

Space

Virgin Orbit to launch satellites from the UK by 2021

The Virgin Galactic spin-off, Virgin Orbit, has announced that it will start launching satellites into orbit from Spaceport Cornwall at Cornwall Airport Newquay in the UK by 2021, using rockets dropped from a modified Boeing 747.

Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket will hitch a ride to high altitude aboard the Cosmic Girl mothership

Space

Rockets at the ready: Virgin Orbit awarded license for airborne satellite launch

Firing rockets from beneath the wings of an airborne 747 isn't the most conventional way to get satellites into space, but Virgin spinoff company Virgin Orbit has been awarded a license for its maiden attempt to do just that, with hopes of beginning commercial services before the year is out.

Virgin Orbit will launch satellites into orbit using the LauncherOne vehicle, which is released from a 747-400 aircraft

Space

Virgin Galactic spins off dedicated satellite launch company

Virgin Galactic has spun off a new company dedicated to launching small satellites. Virgin Orbit will join Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company as the third company to fall under the Virgin Group's Galactic Ventures commercial space portfolio.