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After Math: Eat your heart out, Soundgarden
From the first direct images of a black hole and a nearly-successful private moon landing to self-healing exosuits and self-retrieving rockets, read on for the top stories from what's been a stellar week for space science!
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’s new company will focus on government space launches
Three space-related companies apparently aren't enough for Richard Branson. Today, TechCrunch reported that Virgin Orbit, which was spun out from Virgin Galactic, has created a subsidiary called Vox Space. It's intended to focus exclusively on government contracts. Branson's other space companies are Virgin Galactic, which centers on space tourism, Virgin Orbit for cargo flights and The Spaceship Company, which aims to do precisely what its name suggests.
Facebook has mapped the population of 23 countries in incredible detail (updated)
In its research into the best way to provide the internet to the entire world, Facebook has mapped where all 7.5 billion people on the planet live. By combining government census data and satellite images along with some help from Facebook's image recognition neural network, the company can now locate every single man-made structure to within just five meters. The mapping technology is being used to figure how to deliver internet to populations that currently don't have it or have poor connections to it. Along with ground networks, Facebook has determined that using drones and satellites will be most effective in pushing connectivity further. CNBC reports that Facebook's head of strategic innovation partnerships and sourcing, Janna Lewis, said at the Space Technology and Investment Forum this week, "We're trying to connect people from the stratosphere and from space."
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.
Virgin Galactic forms new company for low-cost smallsat launches
Richard Branson's Virgin Group now has three private space companies. The newest addition is called Virgin Orbit, and it will focus on low-cost small satellite launches based on the company's LauncherOne system. If you'll recall, LauncherOne uses a two-stage rocket dropped from a carrier aircraft. Its earlier iterations could only carry up to 500 pounds of payload. Orbit will use a modified Boeing 747 called "Cosmic Girl" that'll allow the system to ferry a bigger rocket with heavier cargo to Low Earth Orbit.
