Virgin Orbit releases first photos of LauncherOne

It’s a rocket. It’s a plane. It’s a rocketplane?

Virgin Orbit released the first images Friday of its LauncherOne, a 70-foot-long rocket that will be strapped to the bottom of a converted Virgin Atlantic plane for mid-air launches into space as early as the end of this year.

California-based Virgin Orbit is the cargo component of sister spaceflight company Virgin Galactic, both of them offshoots of mogul Richard Branson’s Virgin brand.

Virgin Orbit is expected to announce where it will launch by the end of the year, and state spaceport authority Space Florida is hoping the company will choose the Space Coast.

The company will have plenty of choices, though. The plane could essentially take off from any runway that will accommodate it.

And while mid-air launches are not a new phenomenon, Virgin Orbit’s proposition is that it will do it with quicker turnaround and for less money, at about $12 million a launch, according to company estimates.

LauncherOne could carry small satellites of up to 1,100 pounds into orbit. The converted Boeing 747 Virgin Atlantic plane, called “Cosmic Girl,” will carry the rocket up to about 35,000 feet before releasing it. The LauncherOne, which is about the length of two buses, will then ignite its thrusters for the trip into space. It will travel about 17,500 miles per hour — more than 20 times the speed of sound.

Virgin Orbit already counts as clients satellite company OneWeb, which is building a factory near Kennedy Space Center, and Seattle-based Spaceflight Industries. LauncherOne is currently undergoing routine testing.

“The mission of Virgin Orbit, making small satellites more frequent, sustainable, efficient and affordable, is so exciting,” Branson wrote on his blog. “...The innovations this team are working towards will bring people even closer together and help communities to thrive all around the world.”

“The innovations this team are working towards will bring people even closer together and help communities to thrive all around the world.”

— Richard Branson in his blog

VIRGIN.COM PHOTOS LauncherOne is a 70-foot-long rocket that will be strapped to the bottom of a converted Virgin Atlantic plane for mid-air launches. Space Florida is hoping Virgin Orbit will choose to launch it from the Space Coast.

The converted Boeing 747 Virgin Atlantic plane, called “Cosmic Girl,” will carry the rocket up to about 35,000 feet before releasing it.