Tag: LauncherOne
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Drop test moves Virgin Orbit closer to first satellite launch
A full-scale mock-up of Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket falls away from a modified Boeing 747 carrier jet Wednesday over the Mojave Desert of California. Credit: Virgin Orbit A full-scale model of Virgin Orbit’s air-dropped small satellite launcher, filled with water and antifreeze instead of rocket fuel, fell away from the wing of a modified Boeing…
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Cosmic Girl takes LauncherOne on its first captive carry flight test
Virgin Orbit achieved another major milestone on Sunday, with LauncherOne taken on a captive carry test on Sunday. Carried under the wing of Cosmic Girl, a “flying launch pad” as described by the company, the duo enjoyed a successful first flight together, paving the way for the first launch that is set to take place…
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Virgin Orbit jet aces its first captive-carry flight with LauncherOne rocket attached
Virgin Orbit’s 70-foot-long LauncherOne rocket is hooked beneath the left wing of the modified 747 jet known as Cosmic Girl during the first captive-carry flight. (Virgin Orbit Photo) Virgin Orbit’s modified Boeing 747 jet, nicknamed Cosmic Girl, has made its first test flight with a LauncherOne rocket tucked under its wing. The 80-minute captive-carry flight…
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Virgin Orbit puts flying launch pad through speedy taxi test with a rocket in its pocket
Virgin Orbit’s Cosmic Girl carrier airplane taxis down a runway at Victorville Airport in California with a LauncherOne rocket slung under one of its wings. (Virgin Orbit via Twitter) British billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit space venture notched another milestone over the Veterans Day weekend: the first high-speed taxi test of its modified Boeing 747…
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It’s a first: Virgin Orbit fits LauncherOne rocket under the wing of Cosmic Girl jet
Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket undergoes fit checks underneath a 747 jet that’s been modified to serve as a carrier airplane. (Virgin Orbit Photo via Twitter) What do you get when you cross a Boeing 747 with a rocket launcher? You get something like what you see in the pictures that Virgin Orbit sent out today, showing…
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Virgin Orbit nears first test flights with air-launched rocket
Virgin Orbit’s carrier aircraft, named “Cosmic Girl,” flies with a newly-installed rocket pylon under its left wing. Credit: Virgin Orbit LONG BEACH, California — The attachment of a mounting bracket for Virgin Orbit’s smallsat launcher under the wing of a modified passenger jetliner portends the start of a series of captive carry tests with a…
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Scotland site selected as launch base for Lockheed Martin, Orbex
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated July 17 with Rocket Lab statement. Artist’s concept of a rocket lifting off from the U.K.’s first vertical orbital launch site in northern Scotland. Credit: Lockheed Martin Two companies — U.S. aerospace giant Lockheed Martin and British start-up Orbex — seeking to carve out a share of the burgeoning small satellite launch market…
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Virgin Orbit gets set to start flight tests of its LauncherOne air-launch system
Virgin Orbit Vice President Stephen Eisele talks about his company’s air-launch system during the NewSpace conference in Renton, Wash. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) RENTON, Wash. — British billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit venture is getting ready to put its LauncherOne rocket system through its first flight test in a little more than a week,…
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Virgin Orbit readies LauncherOne rocket for maiden flight
Virgin Orbit is just months away from the first launch of its LauncherOne rocket. The company is currently undergoing an extensive test campaign to ensure that the vehicle will function correctly on its maiden flight. A drop test – part of the captive carry test campaign – is slated to begin by July 23. Virgin…
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Virgin Orbit readies LauncherOne rocket for maiden flight
Virgin Orbit is just months away from the first launch of its LauncherOne rocket. The company is currently undergoing an extensive test campaign to ensure that the vehicle will function correctly on its maiden flight. A drop test – part of the captive carry test campaign – is slated to begin by July 23. Virgin…