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By Joey Roulette
WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Billionaire Richard Branson’s
Virgin Orbit aims to reach space for the first time on Sunday by
launching a rocket from mid-air, a key attempt after aborting
the rocket’s first test launch last year.
The Long Beach, California-based company loaded its
LauncherOne rocket with fuel under clear skies Sunday morning at
the Mojave Air and Space Port in southern California before
aiming to take flight at 10:50 a.m. PT under the wing of a
modified Boeing Co 747 nicknamed CosmicGirl.
The rocket, a 70-foot launcher tailored for sending small
satellites to orbit, will be dropped once its CosmicGirl carrier
craft reaches peak altitude of around 40,000 feet over the
Pacific ocean. It will ignite its single engine to ascend out of
Earth’s atmosphere, attempting to send 10 small satellites into
orbit for NASA.
For Virgin Orbit, the Launch Demo 2 mission is aimed at
“further enhancing our knowledge & demonstrating LauncherOne's
full capabilities,” the company wrote on Twitter Sunday.
“It's important to note that as the mission name implies,
this is still a test,” it added.
The window for the launch test began on Sunday at 10 a.m. PT
(0600 GMT) and lasts until 2 p.m. PT. The company has additional
opportunities for the test throughout January.
Virgin executives say high-altitude launches allow
satellites to be placed in their intended orbit more efficiently
and also minimize weather-related cancellations compared to
rockets launched vertically from a ground pad.
Competition is fierce between Virgin Orbit, Firefly and
U.S.-New Zealand company Rocket Lab, which are designing smaller
or non-traditional systems to inject smaller satellites into
orbit and meet growing demand.
LauncherOne’s first attempt to reach space early last year
was terminated seconds after it was dropped from its carrier
aircraft.
The rocket ignited its NewtonThree engine for a few seconds
but cut off mid-air due to a broken propellant line, Virgin
Orbit’s Chief Executive Dan Hart said in July. The company later
said it was able to collect crucial test data during the brief
flight.
Virgin Orbit has fallen behind Rocket Lab, which has already
completed some 17 orbital launches, though Virgin Orbit says its
rocket can haul about twice the weight.
Virgin Orbit’s government services subsidiary VOX Space LLC
is selling launches using the system to the U.S. military, with
a first mission slated for October under a $35 million U.S.
Space Force contract for three missions.
(Reporting by Joey Roulette in Washington; Editing by Eric M.
Johnson and Daniel Wallis)