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Virgin Orbit s LauncherOne reaches orbit on second attempt
LauncherOne roars into orbit after being dropped by the Cosmic Girl mothership
Virgin Orbit
Virgin Orbit
It was the second time s a charm as Virgin Orbit s airdropped LauncherOne rocket put 10 NASA CubeSat payloads into low-Earth orbit on the second attempt in less than eight months under the space agency s Launch Services Program (LSP).
On January 17, 2021, at 10:50 am PST (18:50 GMT), the 747-800 Cosmic Girl mothership with the LauncherOne rocket attached to a wing pylon took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. After taking up position about 50 miles (80 km) south of the Channel Islands off the coast of California, the two-stage rocket was dropped before automatically firing and powering into orbit. A previous launch attempt in May 2020 was cut short due to an inflight anomaly.
Spaceflight Insider
Cullen Desforges
January 18th, 2021
Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne successfully ignites its engine moments after being dropped by a carrier aircraft to begin its flight toward orbit. Credit: Virgin Orbit
After several hours filled with hopeful anticipation, California-based company Virgin Orbit successfully air-launched its LauncherOne rocket Jan. 17 over the Mojave Desert.
Virgin Orbit confirmed in a series of tweets that the launch vehicle successfully separated from the company’s 747 carrier aircraft “Cosmic Girl” at 11:39 a.m. PST (7:39 p.m. UTC) and had begun the climb to space.
There was confirmation of a successful orbit, however the company initially appeared to remain silent on whether the second stage burn of rocket had been achieved in order to release its payloads into nominal orbit.
UL Lafayette students CAPE-3 satellite collecting data for NASA as it orbits Earth
UL Lafayette / Virgin Orbit
A tiny satellite built by student researchers at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette was launched into space Sunday to measure radiation levels as it orbits Earth. âThe CubeSatâ left the Mojave Air and Space Port in California inside a Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket attached beneath a wing of a customized Boeing 747.
By: Charlie Bier, UL Lafayette Office of Communications
Posted at 8:41 AM, Jan 19, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-19 14:03:09-05
A tiny satellite built by student researchers at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette will help NASA develop technology designed to keep astronauts safe.