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Virgin Orbit is going public to fund its space satellite program
An SPAC merger is expected to generate $483 million in cash.
Watch the first livestreamed Virgin Orbit rocket launch starting at 9:50AM ET
Virgin Orbit is livestreaming a rocket launch for the first time — here's how to tune in to the flight, which could start as soon as 9:50AM Eastern.
Virgin Orbit carries satellites to space for the first time (update: deployed)
Virgin Orbit has successfully carried satellites into space for the first time.
Virgin Orbit's first launch demo flight ends abruptly after rocket release
Virgin Orbit's first demo flight ended abruptly when the rocket's mission 'terminated' soon into its flight.
Virgin Orbit plans to send cubesats to Mars as early as 2022
Virgin Orbit plans to be the first private company to send cubesats to Mars. Today, it announced a partnership with the Polish satellite company SatRevolution and a dozen Polish universities to design a series of small-satellite missions to the Red Planet. The first cubesat could launch as early as 2022.
Virgin Orbit's first rocket drop test was a success
Virgin Orbit's first rocket drop test has gone off without a hitch. The company's Boeing 747 launch aircraft (Cosmic Girl) successfully dropped a dummy LauncherOne rocket from its wing above the Mojave Desert, bringing it one step closer to launching real payloads into space. The focus after this is on launching a real rocket, according to Virgin -- and it might come soon.
Virgin Orbit preps the LauncherOne rocket for its first drop test
Virgin Orbit has gotten the thumbs up to conduct the LauncherOne system's first drop test, and it can happen "in the very near future." The Virgin Group's launch services company has successfully completed its final captive carry flight test, almost eight months after the first time its carrier aircraft Cosmic Girl flew with a 70-foot-long rocket strapped under its wing. Now that it's done with captive carry tests, the company is moving on to the next phase: air-dropping the LauncherOne rocket from an altitude of over 30,000 feet.
Virgin Orbit's rocket completes its first 'captive carry' flight test
Virgin Orbit just edged closer to its goal of launching rockets in mid-air. The company has completed the first "captive carry" test for its LauncherOne rocket, hauling the 70-foot machine under the wing of Cosmic Girl (its Boeing 747 launch aircraft/Jamiroquai reference) as it flew over southern California. The flight wasn't dramatic, but it provided vital data on how well the two vehicles will behave together when the rocket is ready to fire in earnest.
Virgin Orbit will be the first to fly rockets to space from the UK
Today, Virgin Orbit announced that Cosmic Girl, its modified Boeing 747-400 launch platform for its Launcher One rocket, will take off from the UK. This will make Cornwall Airport Newquay the first site in the UK to support launches to Earth orbit. The company hopes that its first launch out of the UK will happen by 2021.
Virgin Orbit books its first government launch contract
Today, space company Virgin Orbit announced that it's secured its first launch contract from the Department of Defense. According to TechCrunch, the payload is scheduled to fly in January 2019, though it's possible that it could launch earlier, in late 2018. The DoD will be launching payloads from the US Air Force's Space Test Program, though what will specifically be included will be decided at a later date.
Virgin Orbit will test its rocket-launching plane in 2018
There's a lot happening at Virgin's three space companies, even though they might not be making headlines the same way that other commercial spaceflight companies are. Virgin Galactic is focused on human spaceflight, and will be resuming powered test flights later this year after a tragic crash in 2014. The Spaceship Company is just that -- it's aimed at building and testing aerospace vehicles. It's the company's third and most recent venture, Virgin Orbit, that we're focused on today. The first flight of LauncherOne, the company's rocket, will take place sometime before July of 2018.
Watch Virgin Galactic test fire its satellite launching rocket
On top of doing space tourism, Virgin Galactic aims to launch small satellites under 200 kilograms (440 pounds) into standard orbit via its LauncherOne program by the end of 2016. To achieve that (and hit the $10 mllion target price) Branson's outfit will not launch rockets from terra firma, but via a carrier plane at a height of around 50,000 feet. So far nary a rocket has flown, but Virgin says it's making "great progress" after a test this month. It managed to "hotfire" its NewtonThree first-stage rocket for nearly 90 seconds, or about half its projected mission burn time (below).
Virgin Galactic reveals where it'll build its satellite-launching rockets
Richard Branson's not just into space tourism -- there's also LauncherOne, which delivers satellites into orbit after being dropped from a "mothership" aircraft. Virgin Galactic says that the rocket will be built a mere 30 minutes from Los Angeles at a 150,000 square foot ex-Boeing facility near Long Beach Airport (below). The space outfit will design and mass produce the LauncherOne rocket there and use the airport as a mission base. Like the SpaceShip Two manned craft, the LauncherOne rocket and payload doesn't need a launchpad -- it's released from an altitude of 50,000 feet by the WhiteKnight Two aircraft. That enables it to heft satellites up to 500 pounds into low-earth orbit for as little as $10 million, a subtantitally cheaper price than (already inexpensive) competitors like SpaceX.
The Engadget Interview: Sir Richard Branson on Virgin Galactic and space tourism for the everyman
It's been a particularly good week for Sir Richard Branson. SpaceShipTwo, Virgin Galactic's sub-orbital peoplecarrier broke the sound barrier for the first time, and Virgin America began service into San Jose, California. Sir Richard was in town to welcome VA's first San Jose arrival, and we jumped at the chance to chat with him, even if only for a few minutes. Our conversation revolved around Virgin Galactic's latest milestone on its journey towards ferrying the masses to the stars. Naturally, we wanted to know his plan to make space travel affordable for us non-billionaires, as the current cost of a Virgin Galactic ticket is a cool $200K quarter million dollars. His solution? A combination of more spacecraft, more spaceports and the most prolific satellite delivery service in history.
Virgin Galactic unveils LauncherOne satellite vehicle
Building a satellite, that's not really much of a problem anymore. Getting them launched, well, that's what separates the big boys from the wannabes. Virgin's Richard Branson believes he has the answer to that -- LauncherOne. The delivery system for Earth orbiters is based around the WhiteKnightTwo, the same launch platform used by SpaceShipTwo to reach its sub-orbital heights. The tube-like rocket of the LauncherOne is carried up to 50,000 feet by its mother ship, before detaching and initiating its two-stage rocket engines. The current design is capable of delivering 500-pound payloads into Low Earth Orbit, while lighter satellites of 225 pounds could reach Sun-Synchronous Low Earth Orbit. Virgin Galactic says it has already signed up its first customers, including SkyBox Imaging and GeoOptics. Sadly, there's no word on when or how much it'll cost to get the spy satellite you built in your backyard placed in the heavens. Check out the video and the PR after the break. Update: We now know another of Virgin Galactic's customers. Asteroid mining startup Planetary Resources has announced that it will "launch several constellations of Arkyd-100 Series spacecraft in the coming years aboard LauncherOne."
