{"id":18267,"date":"2018-11-19T22:17:03","date_gmt":"2018-11-19T14:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/virgin-orbit-jet-aces-its-first-captive-carry-flight-with-launcherone-rocket-attached\/"},"modified":"2018-11-19T22:17:03","modified_gmt":"2018-11-19T14:17:03","slug":"virgin-orbit-jet-aces-its-first-captive-carry-flight-with-launcherone-rocket-attached","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/virgin-orbit-jet-aces-its-first-captive-carry-flight-with-launcherone-rocket-attached\/","title":{"rendered":"Virgin Orbit jet aces its first captive-carry flight with LauncherOne rocket attached"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_462974\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-462974\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-462974\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/181119-launcher2-630x433.jpg\" alt=\"Cosmic Girl with LauncherOne\" width=\"630\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/181119-launcher2-630x433.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/181119-launcher2-768x527.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/181119-launcher2-1260x865.jpg 1260w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-462974\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Virgin Orbit\u2019s 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)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Virgin Orbit\u2019s modified Boeing 747 jet, nicknamed Cosmic Girl, has made its first test flight with a LauncherOne rocket tucked under its wing.<\/p>\n<p>The 80-minute captive-carry flight from California\u2019s Victorville Airport and back came Sunday after months of step-by-step preparations, and represents a major step forward in Virgin Orbit\u2019s plan to start sending satellites to orbit next year.<\/p>\n<p>In a news release, Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said the outing was \u201ca picture-perfect flight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victorville, a logistics airport that\u2019s more than 60 miles from Los Angeles, was the nexus for Sunday\u2019s flight because it\u2019s between Virgin Orbit\u2019s factory in Long Beach and its main launch site in Mojave.<\/p>\n<p>The first report about the flight came in the form of a video clip posted by a Twitter user with the handle Zia Aerospace, or @zia_aero, who was at the airport when Cosmic Girl took off.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1064235584644771840&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2018%2Fcaptive-carry-captured-virgin-orbit-jet-spotted-first-flight-rocket-wing%2F&amp;sessionId=7cbad02c17b24eb104b1dd8ac10316c3b43b4509&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1064235584644771840\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782802162619330357=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Virgin Orbit Cosmic Girl first flight with rocket under wing. pic.twitter.com\/5tHTxTS1RE<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Zia Aerospace (@zia_aero) November 18, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was there just by chance dropping off a rental car \u2026 only armed with a camera phone,\u201d Zia Aerospace told me in a follow-up tweet.<\/p>\n<p>Other planespotters, including Next Spaceflight\u2019s Michael Baylor, took notice of Cosmic Girl\u2019s flight path over the Mojave Desert, as plotted by FlightRadar24. \u201cI wonder if a rocket was under her wing?\u201d Baylor asked in a tweet.<\/p>\n<p>Confirmation of the first captive-carry flight, plus in-flight video and photos, came hours later from Virgin Orbit.<\/p>\n<p>Virgin Orbit\u2019s 70-foot-long LauncherOne rocket is designed to drop from Cosmic Girl\u2019s carrier pylon at an altitude of about 30,000 feet, and then fire up its engine to send payloads weighing as much as 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) to low Earth orbit. The same basic principle is behind other air-launched vehicles ranging from SpaceShipOne and Virgin Galactic\u2019s SpaceShipTwo rocket plane to Northrop Grumman\u2019s Pegasus XL and Stratolaunch\u2019s future rockets.<\/p>\n<p>Captive-carry test flights are aimed at checking the aerodynamics of the Cosmic Girl mothership and its LauncherOne piggyback-rider before the rocket drops begin. During such flights, the rocket-powered craft remains firmly attached to its carrier plane. (And yes, SpaceShipTwo went through captive-carry outings as well.)<\/p>\n<p>During Sunday\u2019s flight, Virgin Orbit\u2019s flight crew assessed the takeoff, landing, and low-speed handling and performance of the integrated system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe vehicles flew like a dream today,\u201d Virgin Orbit chief pilot Kelly Latimer, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, said in today\u2019s news release.&nbsp;\u201cEveryone on the flight crew and all of our colleagues on the ground were extremely happy with the data we saw from the instruments onboard the aircraft, in the pylon, and on the rocket itself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom my perspective in the cockpit, the vehicles handled incredibly well, and perfectly matched what we\u2019ve trained for in the simulators,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=w7Z8nDShFes<\/p>\n<p>Hart, a former Boeing executive who became Virgin Orbit\u2019s CEO last year when it was&nbsp;spun off from British billionaire Richard Branson\u2019s Virgin Galactic venture as its own corporate entity, said he was \u201cextremely proud\u201d of Latimer and the rest of the team.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTheir professionalism really shone through today, with our rocket and our plane up in the skies on a beautiful California day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Cosmic Girl is due to take on several more test flights in the weeks ahead&nbsp;\u2014 some with LauncherOne attached, and some without. The captive-carry flights will lead up to a test flight that involves dropping LauncherOne from its pylon without lighting up the engine. That dress rehearsal will provide valuable data about the aerodynamics of LauncherOne during its freefall through the atmosphere, and about Cosmic Girl\u2019s performance during and after the release.<\/p>\n<p>Virgin Orbit\u2019s drop test will set the stage for the first aerial lighting up of the rocket engines in the new year. Several more LauncherOnes are waiting their turn at the company\u2019s Long Beach factory.<\/p>\n<p>When the air-launch system is ready for prime time, Virgin Orbit should be able to capable of launching payloads into any orbital inclination, from any locale with an airport big enough to accommodate Cosmic Girl. If the weather\u2019s not great for launching, the plane could theoretically fly to clearer skies to execute its mission. And the advance time needed for launch could be as little as a few hours.<\/p>\n<p>Virgin Orbit already has customers lined up for LauncherOne, including Seattle-based Spaceflight and the OneWeb broadband satellite venture. Those customers will no doubt be glad to see how Cosmic Girl is growing up.<\/p>\n<style>.fotorama1782802162648 .fotorama__nav--thumbs .fotorama__nav__frame{\npadding:2px;\nheight:64px}\n.fotorama1782802162648 .fotorama__thumb-border{\nheight:60px;\nborder-width:2px;\nmargin-top:2px}<\/style>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DB2A0537-2-1260x840.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 600px; height: 400px; left: 100px; top: 0px;\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tVirgin Orbit\u2019s modified Boeing 747 jet, christened Cosmic Girl, flies above California with a LauncherOne rocket tucked under its wing. (Virgin Orbit Photos)<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DB2A0707-2-1260x840.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 600px; height: 400px; left: 100px; top: 0px;\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tVirgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart douses Cosmic Girl\u2019s crew with champagne. (Virgin Orbit Photos)<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DB2A0155-2-1260x840.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 600px; height: 400px; left: 100px; top: 0px;\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tVirgin Orbit\u2019s team for the first captive-carry flight. (Virgin Orbit Photos)<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DB2A0537-2-1260x840.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 96px; height: 64px; left: 0px; top: 0px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DB2A0155-2-1260x840.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 96px; height: 64px; left: 0px; top: 0px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DB2A0596-2-1260x840.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 96px; height: 64px; left: 0px; top: 0px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DB2A0613-3-1260x840.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 96px; height: 64px; left: 0px; top: 0px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DB2A0337-2-1260x840.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 96px; height: 64px; left: 0px; top: 0px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DB2A0392-2-1260x840.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 96px; height: 64px; left: 0px; top: 0px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DB2A0469-2-1260x840.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 96px; height: 64px; left: 0px; top: 0px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DB2A0690-2-1260x840.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 96px; height: 64px; left: 0px; top: 0px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DB2A0707-2-1260x840.jpg\" class=\"fotorama__img\" style=\"width: 96px; height: 64px; left: 0px; top: 0px;\"><\/p>\n<p><em>This is an updated version of a report first published at 5:02 p.m. PT Nov. 18.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Virgin Orbit\u2019s 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\u2019s 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1550,1551],"class_list":["post-18267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-launcherone","tag-virgin-orbit"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18267"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18267\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}