The mission includes three cubesats for US Department of Defense which are launched as a part of the DoS Space Test Program (STP); the Netherland's first military satellite, a cubesat called BRIK II; and two optical satellites, STORK-4 and STORK-5, for SatRevolution's STORK constellation. The mission name, "Tubular Bells, Part One", references the first music album released by Virgin Records label in the 1970s. The label was established by Virgin Orbit CEO Richard Branson.
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"We’re in a different world where we were six months ago."
Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne successfully launched seven cubesats June 30 in the second operational mission of the air-launch system.
Small satellite launch company Virgin Orbit has successfully launched it’s LauncherOne rocket on its first operational flight since wrapping up its flight test program earlier this year. Launch occurred at 7:47 AM PDT (14:47 UTC), within t…
Following the first successful launch of LauncherOne in January, Virgin Orbit is aiming for their next mission to lift off in June. While the launch campaign is underway, the small satellite launch provider continues to secure additional l…
Virgin Orbit has scheduled its next LauncherOne mission for June, carrying a mix of defense and commercial cubesats.
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Test flight of the H3-30 variant of the H3 launch vehicle with 3 LE-9 engines in the first stage and no SRBs. The flight will carry a dummy main payl…
A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Sub-orbital launch under Rocket Lab’s Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron (HASTE) program, details TBD.
Chinese classified satellite claimed to be for communication technology test purposes. Actual mission not known.
A pair of demonstration satellites for Direct-To-Cell (DTC) communications from Low Earth Orbit for SpaceSail and China Mobile: * SpaceSail DTC 01…
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system. 2 US military Stars…
18 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…
18 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…