Tag: LauncherOne

Ahead of 2016 Launch, Rocket Lab Qualifies Its Rutherford Engine for Flight

Cue Dennis DeYoung and the rest of 1980’s mega band Styx, because for those who just love rockets, this may really be “The Best of Times.”  Besides the ongoing phenomenon that is SpaceX, and as well as Blue Origin, which suddenly seems a bit restless proceeding at the pace of a tortoise as its motto […]

Virgin Galactic’s Cosmic Girl Undergoes Mods for Launch Duty

Virgin Galactic’s Cosmic Girl Undergoes Mods for Launch Duty

Virgin Galactic is making progress in its bid to enter the small launcher business with its LauncherOne two-stage, liquid fueled booster. Last week, the company announced that LauncherOne’s carrier aircraft, a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747-400 named appropriately enough, Cosmic Girl, arrived in Waco. Texas for conversion to its new assignment. LauncherOne will be carried to […]

Posted in: Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic Taps 747 For Satellite Launch

Virgin Galactic Taps 747 For Satellite Launch

Virgin Galactic Press Release: Dec 03, 2015 LAUNCHERONE PROGRAM TO USE DEDICATED 747-400 AIRCRAFT TO RESPONSIVELY AIR-LAUNCH SMALL SATELLITE CUSTOMER PAYLOADS San Antonio, TX – December 3, 2015 – Virgin Galactic introduced the newest addition to its fleet of vehicles today as part of a technical update on its LauncherOne small satellite launch service. The […]

Posted in: Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic Announces Significant Progress with LauncherOne Propulsion Development

Virgin Galactic Announces Significant Progress with LauncherOne Propulsion Development

Virgin Galactic Press Release, Comments Follow VIRGIN GALACTIC ANNOUNCES SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS WITH LAUNCHERONE ROCKET PROPULSION IN-HOUSE TEAM ACHIEVES KEY MILESTONES IN STEADY-STATE TESTING OF MAIN STAGE AND UPPER STAGE LIQUID ENGINES MOJAVE, California – September 28, 2015 – Successful test firings of key propulsion components marked the latest sign of progress for Virgin Galactic’s dedicated small […]

OneWeb Announces Largest Commercial Launch Order Ever

OneWeb Announces Largest Commercial Launch Order Ever

Image Credit: OneWeb OneWeb has announced what is being described as the largest single launch order ever placed. The order, which will eventually cover some 900 of its planned fleet of broadband internet satellites in Low Earth Orbit, will be split between the Arianespace marketed version of the Soyuz booster, and Virgin Galactic’s much smaller LauncherOne, which is under development. […]

Posted in: Arianespace, NewSpace
Virgin’s LauncherOne Small Booster Gets Its Own Factory

Virgin’s LauncherOne Small Booster Gets Its Own Factory

LauncherOne Factory Launch / Image Credit : Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic announced on Thursday that its is opening a dedicate factory in Long Beach, California for producing the LauncherOne small booster. Here is an excerpt from the press release, absent the obligatory statements from local officials:: LONG BEACH, Calif. – February 12, 2015 – Virgin […]

Virgin Galactic Backs Internet Satellite Venture

Virgin Galactic Backs Internet Satellite Venture

LauncherOne Image Credit Virgin Galactic An interesting story is unfolding regarding what appears to be two separate efforts at establishing very large constellations of small, broadband satellites. In an interview with Bloomberg which came out Tuesday, Elon Musk provided a few more details about the office SpaceX is opening in Seattle. Musk stated that office […]

Posted in: NewSpace, SpaceX
NASA’s Sky High Pegasus Contract Shows SmallSat Launcher Opportunity

NASA’s Sky High Pegasus Contract Shows SmallSat Launcher Opportunity

$16.5 Million Dollars Ago.  OSC Pegasus Launches IRIS. Image Credit : NASA In case there was any doubt there is still a long, long way to go in reducing launch prices across the spectrum, consider this NASA press release from November 20th. CONTRACT RELEASE C14-047 NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Ionospheric Connection Explorer NASA […]

Virgin Galactic Tapped by NASA to Host Commercial Research Payload

Virgin Galactic Tapped by NASA to Host Commercial Research Payload

Virgin Galactic, Masten Space Systems and UP Aerospace were among the winners in the  latest round of research flight assignments as part of NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program, which makes use of a variety of reusable assets to host small, low-cost research payloads.  Altogether, the agency made 13 awards,  but only four were for payloads on  reusable commercial suborbital vehicles,  with […]

Small Launch Vehicle Updates

Small Launch Vehicle Updates

Korea has announced that the upcoming launch of its Nar0-3 rocket will be further delayed while it awaits the arrival of a new fuel coupler from Russia. The Korean Space Agency (KARI) had hoped to reschedule the launch of the two stage rocket to sometime around November 17, but has yet to receive a firm delivery date on the replacement component, leading to a […]

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