Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Above the Clouds

The U.S. Department of Defense is launching several Research and Development (R&D) satellites from multiple government agencies that are experiments in space-based communications and in-space navigation, as well as a university payload sponsored by NASA. This launch, also known as STP-27VPB, was awa...

Introducing Our Next Mission: Above the Clouds

Coming off successful back-to-back launches, the Virgin Orbit team has settled into a steady flight preparation rhythm with LauncherOne. The fully assembled rocket that will carry our next customers’ satellites to space arrived early Monday morning at the Mojave Air and Space Port that serves as all...

Above the Clouds

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Communications

Low Earth Orbit Mojave Air and Space Port Air launch to orbit

Mission to a 500 km circular orbit inclined at 45 degrees carrying eight R&D satellites from US government agencies with communications and navigation experiments as well as two Earth-observation nanosatellites from Polish company SatRevolution.

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Jan. 13, 2022, 11:57 p.m.

Launch success.


SwGustav • Jan. 13, 2022, 4:37 p.m.

Updating the window


Jay • Jan. 11, 2022, 11:33 p.m.

Now targeting January 13.


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 29, 2021, 12:37 a.m.

Updated launch time.


Jay • Dec. 23, 2021, 9:23 p.m.

NET January 12


LauncherOne

Family:
Configuration: One

LauncherOne is a two stage orbital launch vehicle developed by Virgin Orbit since 2007. It is an air launch to orbit rocket, designed to launch "smallsat" payloads of 300 kilograms (660 lb) into a Sun-synchronous orbit, following air launch from a carrier aircraft at high altitude.

Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    16.0 m
  • Diameter
    1.6 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    1.3 m
  • Launch Mass
    30.0 T
  • Thrust
    327.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    LauncherOne
  • Family
  • Variant
    One
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    LauncherOne
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $12000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    500.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    300.0 kg

Virgin Orbit

Virgin Orbit

(VO)

President: Dan Hart Founded: 2017 Successes: 4 Failures: 2 Pending: 0

Agency Type:

Virgin Orbit is a company within the Virgin Group which plans to provide launch services for small satellites. The company was formed in 2017 to develop the air-launched LauncherOne rocket, launched from Cosmic Girl, which had previously been a project of Virgin Galactic. Based in Long Beach, California, Virgin Orbit has more than 300 employees led by president Dan Hart, a former vice president of government satellite systems at Boeing. Virgin Orbit focuses on small satellite launch, which is one of three capabilities being focused on by Virgin Galactic. These capabilities are: human spaceflight operations, small satellite launch, and advanced aerospace design, manufacturing, and test

INFO WIKI

Related News

Spaceflight Now

Virgin Orbit celebrates third successful launch in a row

Virgin Orbit delivered seven small CubeSats for NASA, the U.S. military, Spire, and the Polish company SatRevolution into orbit Thursday with its air-launched rocket after release from a jumbo jet off the coast of California.

SpaceNews

Virgin Orbit launches seven cubesats on third operational mission

Virgin Orbit placed seven cubesats for three customers into orbit Jan. 13 on the third consecutive successful operational flight of its LauncherOne air-launch system.

NASA Spaceflight

Virgin Orbit launches mission STP-27VPB “Above the Clouds”

Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne and its 747 carrier aircraft “Cosmic Girl” are scheduled to launch the US Defense Department’s STP-27VPB mission along with three commercial satellites. The launch is scheduled for Thursday, January 13th at appro…

Air launch to orbit

Mojave Air and Space Port


H3-22
Failure
23 hours, 18 minutes ago
Michibiki 5 (QZS-5)
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2 - Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

QZSS (Quasi Zenith Satellite System) is a Japanese satellite navigation system operating from inclined, elliptical geosynchronous orbits to achieve o…


Electron
Success
1 day, 18 hours ago
The Wisdom God Guides (iQPS Launch 6)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS.


New Shepard
Success
2 days, 10 hours ago
NS-37
West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch - Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA

NS-37 is the 16th crewed flight for the New Shepard program and the 37th in the New Shepard program's history.


Long March 5
Success
2 days, 12 hours ago
TJSW-23
101 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

Chinese classified satellite claimed to be for communication technology test purposes. Actual mission not known.


Electron
Success
4 days, 20 hours ago
Don't Be Such A Square (STP-S30)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (Launch Area 0 C) - Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA

STP-S30 is a complex mission that will deliver research experiments and technology demonstrations to orbit for the DoD and contribute to future space…


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 9 hours ago
Starlink Group 15-13
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 11 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-99
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Ariane 62
Success
5 days, 20 hours ago
Galileo L14 (FOC FM33 & FM34)
Ariane Launch Area 4 - Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Payload consists of two satellites for Europe's Galileo navigation system.


Atlas V 551
Success
6 days, 16 hours ago
Amazon Leo (LA-04)
Space Launch Complex 41 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, is a mega constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit that will offer broadband internet access, thi…


Long March 4B
Success
6 days, 21 hours ago
Ziyuan-3-04
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

The ZY-3 (Ziyuan-3, 'Resource-3') series represents China's first high-resolution, stereoscopic mapping satellites for civilian use. The second sa…