Virgin Orbit has been news again after successfully launching seven new satellites into space using his rocket LauncherOne. This has been the company’s first mission since its recent listing on the stock market, and has allowed three clients to put their equipment into orbit.
In this way, the company belonging to Richard Branson takes a new step towards expanding its operations. According Bloomberg, Virgin Orbit’s intention is to offer its services outside the United States as well; It is expected that from next year it will do so in Japan, but future plans would also include Brazil and other territories.
But returning to what has been its most recent launch, Virgin Orbit has brought out all its machinery again. As we mentioned at the beginning, the satellites were sent into space with the LauncherOne rocket; it was dropped from the air, mounted under the left wing of Cosmic Girl, a modified Boeing 747 aircraft.
According to the mission breakdown, the aircraft took off from Mojave, California, and rose to almost 10,000 meters above the Pacific Ocean before detaching from the rocket in question. The procedure passed without major setbacks and this was also reflected in the stock market, as the shares of Virgin Orbit saw a 3.7% increase in their value, coming to be marketed for $9.75.
Virgin Orbit strengthens its presence in the market
Although there are currently several aerospace companies that are dedicated to sending private satellites into space, some names stand out more than others. By far the best known is SpaceX for his efforts with the Starlink network, and far behind appears Kuiper Systems, a subsidiary of Amazon. It is clear that Virgin Orbit also wants to earn its share within this segment, slowly but also steadily.
Note that Richard Branson’s signature he’s still quite young, having successfully launched the LauncherOne rocket for the first time only in January last year. That hasn’t stopped him from getting clients who trust his procedure.
On this occasion, some of the satellites launched by Virgin Orbit belong to the American company Global Spire, which is dedicated to providing satellite images; while the Polish firm SatRevolution has sent two nanosatellites: one for photographs intended for the agricultural sector and the other to test a new propulsion technology in space. Finally, the cargo also includes research and development satellites of the United States Department of Defense.
In accordance with the official detail, the aforementioned equipment will orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometers and with an inclination of 45 degrees.
Virgin Orbit is just one of the expressions related to the aerospace industry that is under the command of Richard Branson. The British millionaire is also exploring space tourism with Virgin Galactic. With this company it was news on several occasions during 2021; not only for having reached the edge of space aboard SpaceShipTwo, but also for his growing rivalry with Blue Origin, by Jeff Bezos.