Using a modified Boeing 747 jet called Cosmic Girl, Virgin Orbit lofted its LauncherOne rocket into the skies from the Mojave Air and Space Port. “We accomplished many of the goals we set for ourselves, though not as many as we would have liked,” Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said in a statement. Had it reached space, the rocket was carrying only a test weight on board, to simulate the full launch of a satellite into orbit. “Orbit is hard,” said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk – who has his own important launch this week with Crew Dragon. In July last year, the company – a sister company of Branson’s space tourism-focused Virgin Galactic – performed a key drop test of the rocket for the first time.

Source: Forbes May 25, 2020 23:15 UTC