Thursday, May 21, 2020

Virgin Orbit Plans Demonstration Mission This Weekend

Long Beach-based Virgin Orbit is planning a demonstration launch of its small satellite delivery vehicle this weekend, saying it is hoping to launch a satellite into space on Sunday, May 24th at 10 AM PT. The launch--which will be made from the Mojave Air and Space Port---is intended to put the LauncherOne rocket into space, launched from Virgin Orbit's modified 747 launch platform. Virgin Orbit said that it has a backup window also on Monday, May 25th, between 10AM and 2PM, in case of any weather or other issues that crop up on Sunday. If successful, the test will add Virgin Orbit to the growing number of Southern California companies offering up ways to deliver payloads to space. Hawthorne-based SpaceX has offered up that capability on a large scale through its rocket launches; on a smaller scale, Newport Beach-based Rocket Lab has been offering up launches of small satellites through its Electron rocket.

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