Virgin Orbit

[Orionid]

“Cosmic Girl" wykonał ostatnio 3 loty z pylonem.
Przewidziane jest na najbliższe tygodnie rozszerzenie tego typów lotów , potem seria lotów z modelem RN LauncherOne i niewykluczone , że przed końcem roku doczekamy się podjęcia próby orbitalnego testu.

Virgin Orbit performs LauncherOne aircraft flight tests
by Jeff Foust — August 28, 2018

(...) The company disclosed few details about the test flights, but flight tracking services such as Flightradar24 list three flights of the aircraft in recent days, most recently Aug. 27, taking off from the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California. The flights ranged in duration from one and a half to three and a half hours in airspace over the Mojave Desert and over the Pacific Ocean off the California coast.

The company installed the pylon about a month ago, attached to a point on the wing between the fuselage and the inner engine designed to ferry a fifth, non-operational engine. Those test flights went “extremely well,” according to a company official, calling it a “big milestone” as the company.

In a commercial space panel discussion Aug. 1 at a meeting of the Air Line Pilots Association here, Todd Ericson, vice president of safety and flight test at sister company Virgin Galactic said a series of “envelope expansion” test flights of the 747 with the pylon was scheduled for the coming weeks. The company then plans to carry out a series of captive carry test flights with a model of the LauncherOne rocket, culminating in a test where the rocket is dropped.

If successful, those tests would clear the way for a first orbital launch attempt by LauncherOne “by the end of the year,” Ericson said.

https://spacenews.com/virgin-orbit-performs-launcherone-aircraft-flight-tests/

[kanarkusmaximus]

Ha! zdjęcie rakiety!

[Orionid]

“Cosmic Girl” 747 wykonał pierwszy lot z doczepioną rakietą.

Virgin Orbit performs first captive carry flight
by Jeff Foust — November 18, 2018 , Updated 4 a.m. Eastern Nov. 19 with company statement.


Virgin Orbit’s “Cosmic Girl” 747 aircraft, with a LauncherOne rocket attached to its left wing, takes to the skies in the first captive carry test of the vehicle Nov. 18. Credit: Virgin Orbit.

WASHINGTON — Virgin Orbit performed the first captive carry flight of its LauncherOne air-launch system Nov. 18, a key testing milestone as the company moves closer to a first flight.

The company’s “Cosmic Girl” aircraft, a Boeing 747 with a pylon added to its left wing to which the LauncherOne rocket attaches, took off from the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California, shortly after 2 p.m. Eastern, according to flight tracking services. It landed back at the airport 80 minutes later after flying above the high desert region of Southern California, including passing over the Mojave Air and Space Port.

The flight tracking data didn’t specify if the plane was carrying a LauncherOne rocket, but one eyewitness posted video of the plane taking off from the Victorville airport with a rocket attached. A company spokesperson confirmed later Nov. 18 that this was a captive carry flight, the first for Virgin Orbit. (...)

During a captive carry flight, the rocket remains attached to the plane. Virgin Orbit said in a statement last month that “a number” of such captive carry flights are planned, “gathering terabytes of valuable data about aerodynamic performance, structural loading, and more.” That captive carry test program will culminate in a drop test, where the rocket is released in flight from the plane but does not ignite its engine, instead falling to the desert floor.

Barring any technical setbacks, the drop test will be the final step before the first orbital flight of LauncherOne. The company said last month it had already completed manufacturing of that rocket, with two “fully integrated” rocket stages undergoing static-fire tests in Mojave.

The company said in its statement about the captive carry flight that the first orbital flight was now projected to take place in early 2019, with “multiple trips to orbit in the year ahead.” In an interview with CNBC Oct. 9, Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, said he expected the first orbital launch to take place in December or January.

https://spacenews.com/virgin-orbit-performs-first-captive-carry-flight/

[wini]

Kilka ujęć z tegorocznej działalności:

[wini]

Filmik przedstawiający jak będzie wyglądała integracja ładunków z rakietą. Ciekawe rozwiązanie.

[wini]

Test pierwszego stopnia

[Orionid]

To już ostatni test lotny - tym razem  z uwolnieniem rakiety bez materiałów pędnych. Jeszcze w tym roku oczekiwane jest umieszczenie ładunku na orbicie.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=3cNaxx91gpo

Virgin Orbit carries out successful LauncherOne drop test
by Jeff Foust — July 10, 2019


An inert LauncherOne rocket falls away from its 747 carrier aircraft, nicknamed "Cosmic Girl," in a July 10 drop test in the skies above Edwards Air Force Base in California. Credit: Virgin Orbit

WASHINGTON — Virgin Orbit performed a key test of its LauncherOne air launch system July 10, dropping an inert vehicle from its carrier aircraft in one of the last milestones before the vehicle’s first orbital launch attempt.

Virgin Orbit’s Boeing 747 aircraft took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California at 11:43 a.m. Eastern, carrying a full-sized version of the LauncherOne rocket, although filled with water rather that propellants. A half-hour later, the plane released the rocket at an altitude of 10,700 meters above a test range at nearby Edwards Air Force Base.

The test was designed to test the dynamics of the release of the rocket, which on an actual mission would be allowed to fall for several seconds before igniting its first-stage engine. On this test, the rocket simply fell to the ground, impacting in an isolated test area.

The company said the test was a success. “The whole flight went incredibly well. The release was extremely smooth, and the rocket fell away nicely,” Kelly Latimer, Virgin Orbit’s chief test pilot, said in a statement after the flight. The plane behaved during the release as it did in simulations, she noted. “This was the best kind of test flight sortie from a test pilot’s perspective — an uneventful one.”

The drop test wrapped up the flight test program for Virgin Orbit. That program started with a series of flights to inspect its handling with a launch vehicle adapter installed on the plane’s left wing. The company then performed several captive carry flights, with a LauncherOne attached to that adapter but not released.

“Today’s test was a monumental step forward for us,” Dan Hart, chief executive of Virgin Orbit, said in a statement. “It’s the capstone to a thorough development program not just for a rocket, but for our carrier aircraft, our ground support equipment, and all of our flight procedures.”

Parallel to the flight test program, the company has been building and testing LauncherOne’s first and second stages. Virgin Orbit says it has completed “full thrust, integrated hotfires” of both stages on the ground.

Virgin Orbit is now finalizing the assembly of the LauncherOne that will fly the first orbital mission. That vehicle will be completed later in July, the company said, and then undergo testing before its first launch. The company said in a statement only that it expects to perform the launch “later this year,” but industry sources said they expect the company to be ready to attempt a launch in late summer or early fall.

“I’m extremely proud of the team for getting us to this point, and for their spectacular performance today,” Hart said of Virgin Orbit’s employees in the statement. “I’ve told them to take a few hours now to celebrate — our first launch campaign begins in the morning.”
https://spacenews.com/virgin-orbit-carries-out-successful-launcherone-drop-test/

https://theaviationist.com/2019/07/11/virgin-orbit-stages-first-launch-vehicle-test-drop-from-boeing-747-over-mojave/
https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/10/20687873/virgin-orbit-launcherone-rocket-drop-test-cosmic-girl-747-california

Artykuły astronautyczne

2 21.04.23) 2021 SIE 23 19:04 KOSMONAUTA.NET
Plany Virgin Orbit
Firma Virgin Orbit zaprezentowała swoje plany rozwojowe. Virgin Orbit oferuje obecnie rakietę nośną o nazwie "LauncherOne", która po nieudanym debiucie w maju 2020 roku z sukcesem dwa razy wyniosła na orbitę małe satelity.
Najnowsze plany rozwojowe Virgin orbit są następujące:
Odzyskiwalna rakieta LauncherOne
Rakieta LauncherTwo, która będzie wynoszona na grzbiecie samolotu
Podniesienie nośności LauncherOne do 500-600 kg
Budowa orbitalnego pojazdu transferowego
Te wszystkie elementy mają potencjał, by stworzyć z Virgin Orbit poważnego gracza na rynku wynoszenia małych satelitów.
https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1429808747531145224

[Orionid]

24 września RN  LauncherOne została przetransportowana z Long Beach z Kalifornii  do Mojave Air and Space Port w Kalifornii. Po planowanych testach orbitalny lot planowany jest na jesień.

Virgin Orbit moves closer to first launch
by Jeff Foust — September 24, 2019


The LauncherOne that Virgin Orbit will use for its first orbital launch attempt is now in Mojave, California, for final tests before a launch attempt later this fall. Credit: Virgin Orbit

(...) The company announced Sept. 24 that it transported the LauncherOne rocket for its first orbital flight from the company’s factory in Long Beach, California, to the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.

The air-launched rocket will eventually be mated to the company’s modified Boeing 747 aircraft, first for a captive-carry test flight and then for the first orbital launch attempt for the vehicle. Prior to the test, the company said it will put the vehicle on a new test stand in Mojave for “a number of critical exercises,” such as fueling the vehicle. (...)

“In about six weeks, eight weeks, we will be firing the engines on the next drop test and heading at eighteen and a half thousand miles per hour around the Earth in orbit, beginning to drop off satellites,” he said.

https://spacenews.com/virgin-orbit-moves-closer-to-first-launch/

[wini]

VO zaprezentowało koncepcje 3 stopnia dla swojej rakiety który ma umożliwić wysyłanie małych satelitów poza LEO. Prawdopodobnie na tym poleci polska misja na marsa.

[Orionid]

U.K. government to fund spaceport improvements for Virgin Orbit
by Jeff Foust — November 6, 2019


A funding package of nearly £20 million, primarily from the local government and the U.K. Space Agency, could allow Spaceport Cornwall to host flights by Virgin Orbit's air-launch system as soon as late 2021. Credit: Spaceport Cornwall

WASHINGTON — The U.K. Space Agency will provide $9.5 million for infrastructure at a British airport that seeks to host Virgin Orbit’s air-launch system.

The U.K. Space Agency announced Nov. 5 that it will provide £7.35 million ($9.5 million) to Virgin Orbit U.K. Ltd., the U.K. branch of Virgin Orbit, for launch support equipment and mission planning activities at Cornwall Airport Newquay, also known as Spaceport Cornwall, intended to support flights by Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne air-launch system.

The space agency funding is part of a broader funding package of nearly £20 million to allow Virgin Orbit to operate from the airport in southwestern England. The local government in Cornwall is slated to vote later this month on providing £10 million for the effort, while Virgin Orbit will contribute £2.5 million.(...)

“We want the U.K. to be the first country in Europe to give its small satellite manufacturers a clear route from the factory to the spaceport,” Chris Skidmore, the British government’s science minister, said in a statement. “That’s why it’s so important that we are developing new infrastructure to allow aircraft to take off and deploy satellites, a key capability that the U.K. currently lacks.” (...)

Virgin Orbit, in a statement about the funding decision, said Spaceport Cornwall could host its first LauncherOne mission as soon as late 2021, a schedule that will depend on various regulatory approvals in both the United States and Britain as well as completion of the infrastructure improvements at the airport. The company said those first launches from Cornwall “could well be the first orbital launches ever conducted from the U.K.” (...)
https://spacenews.com/u-k-government-to-fund-spaceport-improvements-for-virgin-orbit/

[Orionid]

Ostatni główny test lotny systemu LauncherOne  odbył się 12 kwietnia. RN była wypełniona paliwem, ale tym razem w ramach testu nie nastąpiło oddzielenie rakiety od samolotu-nosiciela  „Cosmic Girl” 747.

Oznacza to , że następny lot tego systemu powinien zakończyć się satelizacją ładunku.





10:28 PM · 12 kwi 2020 https://twitter.com/Virgin_Orbit/status/1249434281283223553

Artykuły astronautyczne

[kanarkusmaximus]

Wątek na nowo otwarty.

25 maja 2020 odbył się nieudany pierwszy start rakiety LauncherOne. Więcej na temat tego startu w tym wątku:
http://www.forum.kosmonauta.net/index.php?topic=4126.0

[Orionid]

LauncherOne wyniósł dwa polskie satelity
  30.06. około 13:50 z pasa 12/30 w Mojave Air and Space Port wystartował samolot Boeing-747-400 "Cosmic Girl".
Podwieszona pod nim rakieta LauncherOne została zrzucona o 14:47, a 3,25 sekundy później nastąpił zapłon silnika
NewtonThree jej pierwszego stopnia. Rakieta wyniosła na orbitę o parametrach: hp=500 km, ha=500 km, i=60° trzy
satelity DIU i nanosat programu STP-VP27A dla USAF, BRIK-II (Holandia), STORK-4 i STORK-5 (MARTA) dla
SatRevolution (Polska).
http://lk.astronautilus.pl/n210616.htm#08

LauncherOne launches “Tubular Bells: Part One”


Virgin Orbit’s first operational mission deploys military CubeSats
July 1, 2021 Stephen Clark


Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket fires its kerosene-fueled main engine seconds after dropping from the company’s Boeing 747 carrier jet. Credit: Virgin Orbit

(...) The mission was the third flight of Virgin Orbit’s expendable LauncherOne rocket. A first launch in May 2020 failed to reach orbit due to an engine problem shortly after ignition, but a second test flight in January successfully placed a cluster of NASA-sponsored CubeSats into orbit. (...)

With a crew of five, the Cosmic Girl carrier aircraft flew to the mission’s launch zone just south of the Channel Islands southwest of Los Angeles. The pilots guided the jumbo jet through the drop box for a “cold pass” to check winds and ensure mission control had a stable telemetry link with the rocket.

The aircraft then circled back in a “race track” pattern and lined up with the proper launch azimuth to the southeast.

Pilot Kelly Latimer pitched the 747 up at an angle of nearly 30 degrees before the rocket dropped from a pylon on the airplane’s left wing at an altitude of about 35,000 feet (10,700 meters).

Five seconds later, the rocket’s NewtonThree main engine ignited to propel LauncherOne into space. The kerosene-fueled engine produced more than 70,000 pounds of thrust at maximum power, and fired for more than three minutes before shutdown. (...)


The Dutch BRIK 2 satellite. Credit: Virgin Orbit

The seven payloads riding on Wednesday’s mission included CubeSats from the U.S. military, the Dutch military, and the Polish company SatRevolution.

Four of the CubeSats were manifested on the mission by the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program. The payloads are part of the STP-27VPA mission awarded to VOX Space, a Virgin Orbit subsidiary charged with marketing launch services to the U.S. government.

The military’s Defense Innovation Unit awarded the contract to VOX Space for the STP-27VPA mission.

One of the U.S. military payloads was a Gunsmoke-J technology demonstration satellite for the Army Space and Missile Defense Command, according to a Space Force spokesperson. The 3U CubeSat, about the size of a toaster oven, is designed to demonstrate how small satellites can respond to Army requirements, such as providing tactical imagery and data to battlefield commanders.

The Space Force spokesperson said there were two 3U CubeSats on-board Wednesday’s mission for the Missile Defense Agency. The CubeSat Network Communications Experiment Block 1, or CNCE Blk 1, payloads “will replicate an advanced on-orbit concept of operations involving satellite-to-satellite communications and satellite-to-ground communications in the space environment,” the spokesperson said.

The CNCE Blk 1 satellites will support experiments in “autonomous mesh networking,” according to the Missile Defense Agency.

The other U.S. military payload launched Wednesday was a 3U CubeSat for the Navy, the Space Force spokesperson said.

Col. Carlos Quinones, director of the Space Test Program, identified the payload as the Halo-NET Free Flyer satellite during Virgin Orbit’s launch webcast.

According to a regulatory filing with the Federal Communications Commission, Hal0-NET Free Flyer will test the survivability and reflectivity of a retroreflector array. The data will help engineers validate optical propagation models and influence the design of future optical communications payloads for the Navy, officials wrote in thee FCC filing. (...)
https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/07/01/virgin-orbits-first-operational-mission-deploys-military-cubesats/

LauncherOne Achieves Second Successful Mission, Lifts Seven Payloads to Orbit
By Ben Evans, on June 30th, 2021


Mated beneath Cosmic Girl’s port wing, today’s mission marked the second fully successful flight by LauncherOne. Photo Credit: Virgin Orbit

(...) Two weeks after the BRIK-II contract was inked, Poland’s SatRevoltion concluded a separate deal to fly a pair of small satellites, known as STORK-4 and STORK-5 (MARTA). These will form the initial members of an eventual 14-satellite-strong constellation, which, when fully operational, will gather multispectral medium-resolution imagery and data for customers spanning the energy and agricultural sectors of Poland, the United States and elsewhere. (...)
https://www.americaspace.com/2021/06/30/launcherone-achieves-second-successful-mission-lifts-seven-payloads-to-orbit/

https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/06/30/virgin-orbit-tubular-bells-part-one-mission-status-center/

https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/06/29/virgin-orbit-planning-to-launch-seven-small-satellites-wednesday/

w SatRevolution https://www.forum.kosmonauta.net/index.php?topic=2549.msg166870#msg166870
                        https://www.forum.kosmonauta.net/index.php?topic=2549.msg166911#msg166911

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/06/launcherone-first-operational/

AA https://www.forum.kosmonauta.net/index.php?topic=3726.msg166906#msg166906

HALO-Net Free Flyer  https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/halo-net-free-flyer.htm
Gunsmoke-J 2 (Jacob's Ladder 2)  https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/gunsmoke-j.htm
CNCE 1  https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/cnce-blk1.htm
CNCE 3
Brik-2  https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/brik-2.htm
STORK 4  https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/stork-1.htm
STORK 5 (MARTA)

[Adam.Przybyla]

... Virgin Orbit zapowiada 20 startow z japonskiej wyspy Kiusiu dla ichniejszego przewoznika lotniczego.
Z powazaniem
                          Adam Przybyla
Zrodla:
https://www.satellitetoday.com/launch/2021/11/05/ana-holdings-to-procure-20-virgin-orbit-flights-from-japan/

[kanarkusmaximus]

Virgin Orbit nie zebrał tyle kasy ile chciał. Ciekawe jakie będą echa tego działania...

https://spacenews.com/virgin-orbit-raises-far-less-than-expected-from-spac-merger/