Virgin Orbit's carrier aircraft, Cosmic Girl (also known as Cosmic Girl), takes off from California's Mojave Airport and Space Port on June 30, 20,21 to kick off the "Tubular Bells Part One" mission.Virgin Orbit has now launched two successful launches.Today, June 30, the company lifted seven satellites. This is a significant step towards a regular and reliable commercial launch service.Virgin Orbit's carrier aircraft, a modified Boeing 747 named Cosmic Girl, took flight from California's Mojave Air and Space Port at 9:50 AM EDT today (1350 GMT; 6:50 AM local time). It had the two-stage LauncherOne rocket underneath its wings.At 10:47 AM EDT (1447 GMT, 7:47 AM local California time), Cosmic Girl dropped LauncherOne above the designated launch area, a portion of the Pacific Ocean near Channel Islands. The rocket roared to its final frontier and carried the spacecraft.Virgin Orbit confirmed nearly two hours later that all seven payloads were deployed in accordance with their targets orbits.Photos: Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket is used for satellite missionsVirgin Orbit, part Richard Branson’s Virgin Group of Companies, called today’s mission "Tubular Bells Part One." Named after Mike Oldfield's 1973 album Tubular Bells, which was Branson's first ever record.(You probably know this song even though you may not realize it. It is the opening theme of the 1973 horror film "The Exorcist.""Tubular Bells Part One" was Virgin Orbit's third overall launch. It also launched LauncherOne, which is 70 feet long (21 meters) and was named after the first part of the rocket. After a fuel line ruptured within the rocket's first stage engine, the launch mission that was intended to be a test flight failed to reach orbit in May 2020.In January 2021, the second launch, which was also a demonstration mission took off. This mission was a success, sending 10 small cubesats into orbit via NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellites program."Tubular Bells Part One" was able to carry seven small cubesats that were used by three customers. The Rapid Agile Launch Initiative was responsible for four of these payloads. It is part of U.S. Department of Defense’s Space Test Program.BRIK II is another cubesat launched today by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF). It's the first military satellite to be launched by the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Virgin Orbit representatives stated via Twitter that BRIK II will "serve as a testbed to a variety of communication experiments and demonstrate how small satellites could make meaningful contributions for RNLAF's ongoing operation."Today's manifest included the launch of the first two satellites for Earth observation by SatRevolution, a Polish company.Virgin Orbit hopes to capture a significant share of the small-satellite market through Cosmic Girl, LauncherOne and other launches. LauncherOne can deliver 1,100 lbs. 500 kilograms) payload for orbit. According to the company, its air-launch strategy is more flexible than traditional vertically launched rockets and makes them more responsive. Virgin Galactic, another Virgin Group company, uses air launch for its SpaceShipTwo tourist-carrying vehicle to suborbital orbital space.Virgin Orbit will conduct at least one additional launch this year, and then ramp up for six more missions in 2022. This was stated by Dan Hart, CEO of the company. Hart spoke to reporters yesterday (June 29). Virgin Orbit has launched three missions from Space Port and Mojave Air, with spaceflight number 4. Hart said that this should change in the near future.He said that plans are in place to fly next year from Guam and Cornwall (in England). "So there will be some geographical diversity as well."Editor's Note: This story was updated on June 30, at 1:35 PM EDT with confirmation of successful payload deployment.
