This is Virgin Orbit's second attempt to launch the LauncherOne rocket. It also carries cubesats which were contracted by NASA through Venture Class Launch Services contract.
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.
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"This magnificent flight is the culmination of many years of hard work."
Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket reached orbit on its second flight Jan. 17, demonstrating the performance of the air-launch system.
After an eight month stand down to resolve issues revealed during the first mission of Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket, the company made their second orbital launch attempt on Sunday, January 17. The air-launched rocket carried ten CubeS…
Virgin Orbit is preparing to perform a second flight of its LauncherOne small launch vehicle in the second half of December, carrying a set of NASA-sponsored cubesats.
Tianlian is a Chinese data tracking and relay communications geostationary satellite series. The TL 2 (Tian Lian 2) satellites represent the second g…
A batch of 28 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Ninth crewed flight to the Chinese space station.
Dedicated rideshare flight to a mid-inclination orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.
32nd commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station operated by SpaceX. The flight will be conducted under the second Commer…
Tenth batch of satellites for a reconnaissance satellite constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office to…
A group of 6 Chinese satellites reported to be for "space environment probing and other related technological testing". Actual usage not known.
Classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.
NS-31 is the 11th crewed flight for the New Shepard program and the 31st in its history.
A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.