The commercial rush to space got a little more crowded. The Virgin Orbit of Richard Branson, a sister company of Virgin Galactic, successfully launched a rocket in orbit for the first time. He also managed to deliver payloads to a customer, NASA, delivering a series of nanosatellites sponsored by the agency.
On Sunday, Virgin Orbit took its second test flight of your LauncherOne rocket, which is launched into space using an unconventional launch system. Iinstead of taking off of a launch cushion on the floor, the rocket is loaded under the wing of a custom Boeing 747, called “Cosmic Girl”, and launched at a predetermined location. Once launched, the rocket fires and goes into orbit. This is exactly what happened on Sunday.
As explained by The Verge, when launching its rocket from an airplane into the air, the Virgin Orbit launch system does not need such a large rocket or so much fuel. This is good from a financial point of view, as it helps to keep costswn. In addition, the outlet reminds that the company maintains This one your system is potentially more flexible than others, as it could, in theory, launch satellites from anywhere a 737 could take off and land.
“Virgin Orbit achieved something that many considered impossible,” said Branson in a statement on Sunday. “It was so inspiring to see our specially adapted Virgin Atlantic 747, Cosmic Girl, launch the LauncherOne rocket into orbit. This magnificent flight is the culmination of many years of hard work and will also spark a new generation of innovators on the way to orbit. “
G / O Media can receive a commission
The launch’s success was a rescue for Virgin Orbit, which failed to reach orbit in its first test flight in May last year. The company later said a problem with a propellant line, which broke seconds after the rocket engine running, was behind the failure.
Unlike Virgin Galactic, which is looking space tourism, Virgin Orbit is all about launching small satellites.
LauncherOne carried 10 nanosatellites, called CubeSats, that are part of NASA’s Educational Launch of Nanonsatellites initiative. The program is designed to attract and retain students in STEM, by NASA, and students are involved in all aspects of the mission, from development and assembly for testing and launch.
They are called nanosatellites for a reason. CubeSats are designed to be 10x10x10 cm, or about four cubic inchesexplains the agency. Although they may be made up of individual units, which must weigh less than three pounds (1.33 kg), they can also be combined to form two, three or six units. The CubeSats that were loaded by LauncherOne were created by eight US universities, as well as by NASA itself. Satellites will work for research topics such as space climate, space radiation and space debris, among others.
Virgin Orbit said it already had a number of customers reserved for subsequent launches, including the U.S. Space Force, the United KingdomReal Force, Italian private space company SITAEL and the Danish satellite manufacturer GomSpace, among others.