VIRGIN ORBIT COMPLETES CAPTIVE CARRY TEST OF LAUCHERONE ABOARD BOEING 747 CARRIER AIRCRAFT
VICTORVILLE, Calif. -- On November 18, VirginOrbit completed a successful captive carry test flight of its modified Boeing 747-400 with a LauncherOne rocket under its wing. The launch paves the way for the company's launch to orbit planned for early 2019.
The test took place in Victorville, California - a test facility close both to Virgin Orbit's Long Beach factory and to one of its operational launch sites, the Mojave Air and Space Port. The flight lasted 80 minutes in total, during which Virgin Orbit's flight crew assessed the take-off, landing, and low-speed handling and performance of the integrated system.
This successful flight marks the start of a new phase in Virgin Orbit's extensive test flight campaign. As part of that program, the company will conduct several more flights of its 747-400, some with a LauncherOne rocket attached and some without. Future tests will focus on further proving out the robustness of the company's modified 747, the carbon-fiber rocket itself, and the performance of the avionics and flight computers onboard the rocket. This portion of the extensive testing regime will conclude with a drop test, during which a rocket will be released from Cosmic Girl - without igniting - generating critical data about Cosmic Girl's and the rocket's performance as it freefalls through the atmosphere.
Virgin Orbit is one of many startups entering the lightweight launch market. With so many new companies, the market is increasingly competitive, so companies will need to move quickly to get ahead of rivals. Rocket Lab has already started conducting operational launches, giving it a major advantage in gathering investors, talent, and customers compared to other companies. However, with the start of flight tests, Virgin Orbit intends to catch up quickly.
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