Q&A with George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic

The first orbital test flight of Virgin Orbit’s privately-developed air-launched rocket is scheduled as soon as Sunday off the coast of Southern California, the company said Wednesday.

The attachment of a mounting bracket for Virgin Orbit’s smallsat launcher under the wing of a modified passenger jetliner portends the start of a series of captive carry tests with a full-scale model of the rocket, culminating in a drop of the vehicle before the first orbital launch attempt.

Backed by a fresh capital infusion and regulatory rights to a valued slice of satellite communications spectrum, the space-based Internet company OneWeb has contracted with Arianespace and Virgin Galactic to deploy hundreds of refrigerator-sized spacecraft around Earth.