Virgin Orbit, was founde­d by Britis­h billio­naire Richar­d Branso­n in 2012The first test launch of a rocket that is released from a jumbo jet at 35,000 feet and then propels itself into orbit to deploy a satellite failed on Monday, the Virgin Orbit company said. The plane released the rocket cleanly, but the latter developed trouble of unknown origin after igniting its first-stage engine, the company said. The 70-foot (21-meter) Virgin Orbit rocket, named LauncherOne, does not take off from a vertical lift-off, but rather is strapped to the underside of a wing on a converted Boeing 747 named Cosmic Girl. But Virgin Orbit wants to make a less expensive version of the launch. Richard Branson has founded another space company, Virgin Galactic, which is using a similar concept with the goal of taking tourists into space to experience weightlessness some 50 miles above the surface of the Earth.

Source: The Express Tribune May 26, 2020 11:15 UTC