posted 07-11-2012 08:12 AM               

Please use this topic to discuss Virgin Orbit's air-launched small-satellite LauncherOne that combines the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft with a two-stage rocket.

posted 03-02-2017 08:25 AM               

Welcome, Virgin Orbit!

Our world class team has been steadily and diligently building capabilities in three related areas: human spaceflight operations; small satellite launch; and advanced aerospace design, manufacturing, and test. To remain leaders in these three fields, we have grown our organizational structure to match the industry landscape. Focused companies produce excellent outcomes, and while a diversified service set might be great in some fields, we want to grow in each of these areas that support each of these categories.

Effective today, our family of space companies numbers three. As with before, Virgin Galactic will be our commercial human spaceflight services provider and The Spaceship Company will continue to offer design, manufacturing and testing services to build vehicles for Virgin Galactic. And our small satellite LauncherOne team will become our newest company: Virgin Orbit.

Virgin Orbit will be led by President Dan Hart, who joins Virgin Orbit after a distinguished 34 years at Boeing, where he was responsible for all of the company's satellite programs for the US government and several allied countries. As Boeing's Vice President of Government Satellite Systems, he led efforts in all phases of the aerospace product life cycle, from R&D through development, production and flight operations, and has supported numerous space launch missions across human spaceflight, satellite development, launch vehicle development, and missile defense.

Virgin Orbit is the third company in Virgin Group's commercial space portfolio, Galactic Ventures, led by CEO George T. Whitesides and owned by the Virgin Group and Aabar Investments PJS. Our three companies are developing world-leading aerospace products and services in the following categories, each contributing to our shared vision of opening space to change the world for good.

Galactic Ventures CEO George T. Whitesides: "Virgin Orbit will lead the world in responsive, affordable, dedicated launch for small satellites. Our new organizational structure positions each Virgin space company to achieve its full potential while remaining true to our shared purpose of opening space to all. It is a testament to the Virgin Orbit team that we start this chapter with our newest space company led by an exceptional individual like Dan."

Virgin Orbit President Dan Hart: "The Virgin Galactic team has been boldly blazing the trail in a rapidly evolving space industry and I am thrilled to join the team. In 34 years at Boeing, I've had the honor to work on some of the most iconic and successful space programs in history including the Space Shuttle, the Delta launch program and satellite systems that have connected the world and protected our nation. Along the way, I've been privileged to work alongside incredibly talented engineers and industry leaders who have contributed to my own approach to innovation in space systems. The perfect next challenge is to lead Virgin Orbit's entrepreneurial team through a transformative time for not only Virgin Orbit but also the industry. To me, the Virgin brand is about making life on Earth better, and we are going to fulfill that purpose by accessing Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to connect billions of people and enabling valuable applications of data from space through Virgin Orbit's flexible, affordable, and reliable launch service."

In the coming months, we will share more details, launch new websites and unveil Virgin Orbit's new brand identity. In the meantime, please join Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company in welcoming our newest company, Virgin Orbit!

posted 07-07-2017 03:52 PM               

LauncherOne is powered by two rocket engines — a single NewtonThree on the main stage and a single NewtonFour on the upper stage. Both engines are turbopump-fed, gas generator cycle, LOX/RP-1 engines developed in-house here at Virgin Orbit.

Here's a typical test of the NewtonFour on our test stand up in Mojave, CA, in which the engine runs for a full six minutes — the same duration it would run during a full orbital launch. By popular demand, we're posting this in real time — all six minutes of rockety goodness!

posted 10-24-2018 11:29 AM               

CosmicGirl, meet LauncherOne. LauncherOne, meet Cosmic Girl. We think you'll be friends!

We're conducting some fit checks now with our dedicated smallsat launch vehicle and our 747 flying launch pad. It's a beautiful day here in Long Beach!

posted 10-24-2018 09:09 PM               

You've seen photos of our rocket. You’ve flown on 747s. But it's hard to fully appreciate the scale of our flexible, affordable satellite launch system until you see our vehicles together! For the first time, here are images of LauncherOne under the wing of CosmicGirl.

posted 11-13-2018 10:28 PM               

Zoom, zoom, zoom, LauncherOne was on the move again — this time for our very first high-speed taxi test.

With chief pilot Kelly Latimer at the helm, Cosmic Girl cruised down the runway at Victorville Airport this weekend with a rocket under her wing. Not only did we ramp all the way up to more than 110 knots (that'll blow your hair back!), we also used the day as an opportunity to load real flight software onto LauncherOne for the first time.

Keep an eye out for more awesome images and info as our extensive captive carry campaign continues.

posted 11-19-2018 03:24 PM               

This Sunday (Nov. 18), a new sight appeared in the baby-blue skies over Southern California: A specially modified 747-400 carrying a 70-foot-long rocket under its wing soared through the air as part of a successful test flight for Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne.

posted 01-31-2020 09:49 AM               

Cosmic Girl and LauncherOne are back on the runway in Mojave!

Since the beginning the year, there's been a flurry of fast-paced but deliberate activity to ready ourselves for an orbital launch demo with LauncherOne. Between flight sims, loading rehearsals and more, we validated a bevy of procedural and technical parameters and worked to demonstrate both vehicle and team readiness across the mission timeline.

Last week, team got the thumbs-up to move all of our GSE over to the hammerhead, the area where we'll conduct ground ops in the run-up to our orbital launch demonstration.

This week, we took LauncherOne off the test stand and re-mated the rocket to Cosmic Girl's wing.

All this activity is a precursor to a short series of wet dress rehearsals, as well as one more taxi test and captive carry flight with the fully loaded rocket.

Everyone is eager for us to conduct our launch demonstration — us more than anyone else. Now, we've got the rocket, our airplane and all of our support equipment positioned just next to the runway from which we'll fly. In a very literal sense, we're really close!

posted 11-30-2020 01:46 PM               

The igniter-ready light came on when the prime cycle began and the pilot turned on the igniter switch. This all happened before the X-15 dropped away from the NB-52. As the X-15 was falling, the pilot continued the engine start procedure. There were about 10 seconds available to light the engine before the pilot had to abort to the launch lake; that was time for two ignition attempts.

posted 12-12-2020 06:42 PM               

Our vehicles, hardware, and software are all ready to go. With two rehearsals already complete, one final wet dress rehearsal is all that remains for us to do. However, the Covid-19 pandemic is impacting our ability to safely operate, and thus our schedule.

Our team has really proven to be outstanding. In the past week, we've completed full mission duration hotfire campaigns on both our upper and main stage engines, qualified our flight software and mission planning for this flight, verified the health of all rocket systems, and more.

Through extensive use of remote work and PPE, the redesign of our launch operations, and well-trained and dedicated staff, we've done everything in our power to keep our team safe at work — and thus far, we've prevented any cases of teammate-to-teammate transmission.

But even with these strict measures in place, as infection rates skyrocket in our communities, that is becoming a more difficult task. Our latest round of contact tracing Friday evening led to a new batch of precautionary quarantines. Consequently, we've fallen below the number of staff we feel we require to prudently and safely proceed with pre-launch operations.

Our priority now is ensuring the well-being of our team, and to support the few who have tested positive. More than anything else, we wish them a speedy recovery.

Upon receiving this information late Friday, we stepped out of a major operation, our final wet dress rehearsal, which we had already begun, and stood down the team so we could make a clear-sighted assessment before moving forward.

Given the timelines associated with accurate Covid-19 testing results, this will impact our launch schedule. We are assessing that impact now. We will be ready to fly soon, but the health of our team and their families remains at the forefront of our decisions.

A final note: if you love space, love Earth and love its people, please take the proper precautions. Social distance and wear your mask. Simple, individual actions can save lives — and can keep our communities, our economies, and even our rocket launches on track.

posted 12-23-2020 12:39 PM               

Update from Mojave: as our teammates cleared their preventative quarantines, we got back into our pre-launch operations. Sunday and Monday, we completed our final wet dress rehearsal — the last big test we had planned prior to our launch.

Our policies around social distancing were strict before, but we've since implemented even more extreme measures to ensure the health and safety of our team. A full 2/3rds of the small crew who were on-site for our previous WDR supported this latest rehearsal remotely.

Our hardware is basically ready to go, as is our team. We are working with our partners in government and with our customers to identify our new candidate launch windows. We'll publish new dates as soon as they are final, but currently, the window is likely to be mid-January.

Finally: to all of our friends, neighbors, and families, we wish you a joyous, safe, socially distanced, disinfected holiday season. As 2020 winds down and we all prepare to enter a new chapter, please take care of yourselves and your loved ones — and wear a mask!