A previous attempt by Virgin Orbit in 2020 to get the LauncherOne into space from an airplane failed. Then the flight was terminated shortly after the missile was released. “In both a literal and a figurative sense, this is miles past our first launch demo,” the company concluded on Twitter after the successful flight. The rocket has put ten small NASA satellites into orbit.
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Virgin Orbit’s goal is to try to capture some of the emerging market for the launch of small satellites. The company wants to compete with that of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, among others. In addition, there is stiff competition from other so-called NewSpace companies such as Firefly Aerospace and Rocket Lab.
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Launching a rocket horizontally from an airplane is easier to organize than a vertical launch. In principle, only a runway is needed, not an expensive launch site.
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Branson also founded another space company, Virgin Galactic. He wants to use this to bring tourists to space, so that they can experience weightlessness at a height of 80 kilometers.
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