Branson: Customers happy at space launch

BILLIONAIRE ENTREPRENEUR Richard Branson has described his excitement after Virgin Orbit delivered seven satellites into space during its second rocket launch from a plane, saying he had “very happy, very satisfied customers from all over the world”.

The company, which provides launch services for small satellites, used its modified 747 jet – called Cosmic Girl – to carry a 70ft rocket beneath its left wing, taking off from California’s Mojave Desert.

Once the plane was over the Pacific, the LauncherOne rocket separated from the plane at about 37,000ft, before firing its engine and flying into low-Earth orbit.

Sir Richard, inset, said: “Virgin Orbit is putting satellites into space but doing it in a very unique way. It has taken a Virgin Atlantic 747, converted the wing and built these enormous rockets that attach to the side of the wing. “They (the planes) go up to 40,000-odd feet, drop the rocket off and it goes into orbit, travelling at 17,500 miles an hour. “And today they just dropped the satellites, often in the exact place that they needed to be, and they are now feeding back to Earth and we’ve got a lot of very happy, very satisfied customers from all over the world, celebrating in the room next door.”

LauncherOne released seven satellites from three countries, which include the US Department of Defence Space Test Programme, Poland’s SatRevolution and the Netherlands’ Royal Netherlands Air Force.