Cosmic Girl Will Join Spaceflight’s Growing Portfolio Of Launch Vehicles For Small Satellite Rideshare

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between small satellite launch company Spaceflight and Virgin Orbit for a mission to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in 2019.

Virgin Orbit’s Cosmic Girl, a dedicated 747-400 carrier aircraft, will carry LauncherOne (which will house Spaceflight’s customer smallsats) to an altitude of approximately 35,000 feet before release for its rocket-powered flight to orbit. The two-stage expendable rocket, which is currently in the final stages of qualification, can place about 300-500 kilograms into orbit. Virgin Orbit aims to conduct multiple missions to LEO in 2018.

Spaceflight has launched more than 140 satellites to date from a variety of launch vehicles including Falcon 9, PSLV, Dnepr, Antares, and Soyuz. It recently announced agreements for launches on Electron, Vega, and now LauncherOne.

“We’re continuing to provide the most options for customers to get their spacecraft into orbits that traditional rideshare cannot service,” said Curt Blake, president of Spaceflight. “LauncherOne offers timely and targeted access to the equator and mid-latitudes, and we’re excited to provide this innovative service to our customers via this partnership with Virgin Orbit.”

"Spaceflight brings a proven track record of launch success, a vibrant international customer base, and a customer-centric approach to put together missions to LEO, GTO, GEO and beyond," said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart. "This agreement further propels the smallsat revolution and gets us closer to realizing our vision of launching anyone, anywhere, any time.”

(Image provided with Spaceflight news release)

FMI: virginorbit.com, www.spaceflight.com