VIRGIN ORBIT – HOW IT WORKS

CALIFORNIA-BASED Virgin Orbit, part of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group of companies, has invested more than $1 billion in developing a horizontal launch satellite system.

Virgin Orbit uses a former transatlantic 747 passenger aircraft (called Cosmic Girl) to carry a 70-foot two-stage rocket (LauncherOne) under its wing. The rocket can carry between 300kg and 500kg of satellites and weighs around 25 tonnes when fully loaded. The aircraft would take off from Cornwall Airport Newquay in a conventional fashion and fly to an altitude of about 35,000 feet over the Atlantic.

When in position, LauncherOne is released from the wing and free-falls for a few seconds before its rockets fire and accelerate to a maximum speed of 17,500 mph into low Earth orbit, where its satellite payload is deployed.

Cosmic Girl then lands back at Newquay like any normal aircraft and is completely reusable. This reduces costs and emissions compared to a vertical launch.

Speaking on a visit to Cornwall earlier in the summer, Dan Hart, CEO of Virgin Orbit, said: “Ever since a bunch of aerospace engineers launched from Cape Canaveral they have been wondering ‘how do we do this with an aircraft?’. We figured that out using an aircraft and what makes this so successful is that satellites have grown smaller.

“The capabilities, like your smartphone, let you do more from a smaller package. In the past satellites were the size of a school bus, now they are the size of a microwave.”