LauncherOne

Virgin Galactic began working on the LauncherOne concept in 2007,[11] and the technical specifications were first described in some detail in late 2009.[12] The LauncherOne configuration was proposed to be an expendable, two-stage, liquid-fueled rocket air-launched from a White Knight Two carrier aircraft.[13] This would make it a similar configuration to that used by Orbital Sciences' Pegasus, or a smaller version of the StratoLaunch air-launched rocket system.

By 2012, several commercial customers had signed early contracts for launches signaling demand-side support for new small commercial-oriented launch vehicles. These included GeoOptics, Skybox Imaging, Spaceflight Services, and Planetary Resources. Both Surrey Satellite Technology and Sierra Nevada Space Systems were at the time reported to be developing satellite buses "optimized to the design of LauncherOne".[14][15] In October 2012, Virgin announced that LauncherOne would be designed so that it could place 200 kg (440 lb) in Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).[16] Virgin planned at the time to market the 200 kg (440 lb) payload delivery to Sun-synchronous orbit for under US$10 million per mission,[14] while the maximum payload for low Earth orbit (LEO) missions would be somewhat larger at 500 kg (1,100 lb).[17]

Under plans announced in 2012, the second stage was to be powered by NewtonOne, a 16 kN (3,600 lb_f) thrust engine, and the first stage by a scaled-up version called NewtonTwo, with 211 kN (47,000 lb_f) of thrust. Design and construction of the first engines was completed by 2014. NewtonOne was tested up to a full-duration burn of five minutes. NewtonTwo made several short-duration firings by early 2014.[17] Ultimately, however, neither NewtonOne nor NewtonTwo would be used on LauncherOne.

In 2015, Virgin Galactic established a 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m²; 1.4 ha) research, development, and manufacturing center for LauncherOne at the Long Beach Airport.[18] The company reported in March 2015, that they were on schedule to begin test flights of LauncherOne with its NewtonThree engine by the end of 2016,[19] but they did not achieve that objective.

On 25 June 2015, the company signed a contract with OneWeb Ltd. for 39 satellite launches for its satellite constellation with an option for an additional 100 launches,[20] but in 2018 OneWeb canceled all but four, prompting a lawsuit from Virgin Orbit.[21] OneWeb filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020.[22]

News reports in September 2015 indicated that the heavier payload of 200 kg (440 lb) was to be achieved by longer fuel tanks and use of the recently qualified NewtonThree engine, but this also meant that the Virgin-developed carrier aircraft White Knight Two would no longer be able to lift the rocket to launch altitude, so in December 2015, Virgin announced a change to the carrier plane for LauncherOne to carry the heavier payload. The carrier aircraft subsequently was changed to a used Boeing 747-400,[23] Cosmic Girl, previously operated by Virgin Galactic's sister company, Virgin Atlantic, and purchased outright by Virgin Group from Boeing upon the expiration of that airframe's lease. The 747 will allow a larger LauncherOne to carry the heavier payloads. The modification work on the company's 747 was expected to be completed in 2016, to be followed by orbital test launches of the rocket in 2017.[24][25][26]

It was further announced in December 2015 that the revised LauncherOne would utilize the larger NewtonThree rocket engine on the booster stage, with the NewtonFour powering the second stage.[24] NewtonThree was to be a 260–335 kN (58,000–75,000 lb_f)-thrust engine, and began hot-fire testing by March 2015.[19][27] The NewtonFour engine would power the second stage. NewtonThree generate 326.8 kN (73,500 lb_f) of thrust while NewtonFour deliver 26.5 kN (6,000 lb_f) to the second stage and is capable of multiple restarts.[28]

On 2 March 2017, Virgin Galactic announced that its 200-member LauncherOne team was being spun off into a new company called Virgin Orbit.[29] A subsidiary company of Virgin Orbit called Vox Space was created to carry out business which require strict security requirements.[30][31] As of 2017, the company planned to fly approximately twice a month by 2020.[32]

In September 2017, the first test flights of LauncherOne were delayed to 2018.[32] By June 2018, the Virgin Orbit captive carry flight testing campaign for LauncherOne, including a planned drop test of an unfueled rocket, was licensed to begin in July 2018, and could run for up to six months.[28]

In the event, no LauncherOne test flights occurred in 2018 and were delayed further, to December 2019, with only the carrier aircraft beginning to fly in 2018. The first three test flights of Cosmic Girl, including the pylon but not the rocket, happened on 23, 25 and 27 August 2018.[33][34] A high-speed taxi test, with a rocket mounted beneath the aircraft, took place in early November 2018.[35] The aircraft flew its first test flight with both pylon and rocket attached on 18 November 2018.[36][37]

Flights

Cosmic Girl carrying LauncherOne during the first successful flight in January 2021.

The maiden flight of LauncherOne took place on 25 May 2020. The flight failed a few seconds after the ignition of the rocket due to a premature shutdown of the first stage engine, caused by a break in a propellant feed line,[38] and the rocket did not reach space. The launch failure was attributed to a failure of a high-pressure liquid oxygen fuel line in the NewtonThree engine. Due to the failure, oxygen was no longer supplied to the engine and the flight was terminated. The issue with the fuel line was addressed by strengthening the broken components.[39][40]

The second launch took place on 17 January 2021, and was the first to successfully reach orbit.[8] The rocket deployed 10 CubeSats for NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellites mission (ELaNa 20).[41] Cosmic Girl took off from Mojave Air and Space Port in California at 18:38 UTC. The aircraft launched the LauncherOne rocket at 19:39 UTC.[9] The launch occurred at the altitude of 10,700 m (35,100 ft).[42]

On 17 January 2021, both NewtonThree and NewtonFour performed as expected.[41] During launch, NewtonFour fired twice; once to inject the second stage and the payloads into a transfer orbit, and again to circularize the orbit.[41][43]

LauncherOne is a two-stage air-launched vehicle. The rocket has a diameter of 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in) for the first stage and 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) for the second stage and payload fairing.[6]

In October 2019, the company announced plans to develop a three-stage variant that would be capable of launching 100 kg to the Moon, 70 kg to Venus, or 50 kg to Mars.[4]

LauncherOne is designed to launch a 300 kg (660 lb) payload to a 500 km (310 mi) Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), suitable for CubeSats and small payloads.[44][45] Virgin Orbit has also announced the ability of LauncherOne to send payloads into heliocentric orbit for flybys of Mars, Venus or asteroids.[46]

Mojave Air and Space Port

Virgin Orbit integrate payloads at their headquarters in Long Beach, California.[3]

LauncherOne is launched from its Cosmic Girl Boeing 747-400 carrier, attached to a pylon on the aircraft's left wing, and released over the ocean at a location depending on the desired orbital inclination. This process avoids typical delays for ground launches due to weather and upper-level winds.[3] William Pomerantz of Virgin Orbit has stated that any airport that can support a Boeing 747 may be used, subject to local legislation.[47]

As of 2021, the carrier plane has always lifted off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California, United States. The company also has plans to use other airports such as Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA and Newquay Airport in Cornwall, United Kingdom. Other proposed launch sites include Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport in Hawaii, José Aponte de la Torre Airport in Puerto Rico,[5] Oita Airport in Japan, and Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.[48]