Mission Reports

Virgin Orbit’s air-launched rocket aced its first operational mission Wednesday, firing into orbit from the wing of a 747 carrier jet southwest of Los Angeles to deploy small satellites for the U.S. Army, Navy, the Missile Defense Agency, the Dutch military, and the Polish company SatRevolution.

Wally Funk, an 82-year-old aviation pioneer and one of the 13 female fliers who were tested but ultimately barred from NASA’s initially all-male astronaut corps, is finally getting her chance to fly in space, thanks to Jeff Bezos.

Virgin Orbit performed its first operational launch Wednesday, when the company’s Boeing 747 carrier aircraft released a liquid-fueled LauncherOne rocket over the Pacific Ocean southwest of Los Angeles to fire into orbit with seven CubeSats for the U.S. military, the Dutch military, and the Polish company SatRevolution. Release of the rocket occurred at approximately 10:47 a.m. EDT (7:47 a.m. PDT; 1447 GMT).

On the heels of its first successful orbital launch in January, Virgin Orbit is gearing up for its first operational mission Wednesday with a flight of its air-launched rocket off the coast of California to deploy seven small satellites.

A Cygnus spacecraft owned by Northrop Grumman departed the International Space Station Tuesday, concluding a four-month mission that delivered more than 8,000 pounds of cargo. The automated resupply freighter will deploy five small CubeSats before re-entering the atmosphere and burning up over the Pacific Ocean.