BRANSON’S VIRGIN ORBIT ROCKET SENDS SATELLITES INTO SPACE

LOS ANGELES: Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit reached space on Sunday, eight months after the first demonstration flight of its air-launched rocket system failed, the company said.

A 21.34-metre-long Launcherone rocket was released from beneath the wing of a Boeing 747 carrier aircraft off the coast of Southern California, ignited moments later and soared towards space.

The two-stage rocket carried a cluster of very small satellites known as Cubesats developed and built as part of a Nasa educational programme involving US universities.

The launch occurred after the Boeing 747-400 took off from Mojave Air and Space Port in the desert north of Los Angeles and flew out over the Pacific Ocean to a drop point beyond the Channel Islands.