A venture to launch small satellites using a rocket fired by a converted jumbo jet first put 10 little ones in orbit on Sunday, giving a big boost to the startup founded by entrepreneur Richard Branson.
Virgin Orbit’s successful demonstration flight from Southern California, nearly eight months after a failed test, lifts the company to the select group of small satellite launch providers capable of offering proven hardware.
With the proliferation of small satellite manufacturers in the US and other regions, specialist launch providers are rushing to meet the demand to blast their products into space. They include Rocket Lab, a US and New Zealand company that has a rocket proven in flight; Firefly Aerospace from Texas; and Relativity Space, which plans to launch 3D-fabricated rockets. But only a few of the startups can claim the distinction of shooting out of the atmosphere, a goal that Mr. Branson and his team have been pursuing for years, even as more conventional rocket designs attracted most of the public attention.
Virgin Orbit’s new air platform, a specially equipped Boeing Co. 747 jet called Cosmic Girl, climbed to a height of about 6 miles above the Pacific Ocean, releasing a sleek 70-foot missile suspended under its left wing. The booster’s main liquid-powered engine roared to life, sending the cluster of cubesats, or miniature satellites, built by universities and sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, into low Earth orbit.
Mr. Branson said the company’s LauncherOne rocket would encourage “a whole new generation of innovators on their way to orbit.” Dan Hart, CEO of Virgin Orbit, said the company has managed to showcase every element of its launch system. The next mission is scheduled to begin commercial operations with clients including the UK Air Force and low-cost communications provider Swarm Technologies Inc.