Virgin Orbit conducted the first test flight of the rocket LauncherOne

Date:

2018-11-20 07:30:09

Views:

3684

Rating:

1Like 0Dislike

Share:

Virgin Orbit conducted the first test flight of the rocket LauncherOne Source:

In recent years more and more private companies are making progress in the field of launches of spacecraft into orbit. And soon after successfully launch their rockets and SpaceX , which launched its first rocket into space last week on the orbit can aim at and owned by Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit. Literally days ago in California over the Mojave desert, the company conducted the first successful test of the rocket LauncherOne.

Recall that LauncherOne — it's a pretty interesting project, which is a space launch vehicle launched into Earth orbit from the plane in the air. Payload, which is able to display LauncherOne, can reach up to 220 pounds.

At the end of October this year representatives of the company reported that for the first time, LauncherOne attached to the wing of a 747 aircraft. A week ago the plane with the wing attached to the missile drove on the runway with a speed of about 200 kilometers per hour. While held test flight was held without any announcements. Moreover, the company did not specify whether the missile attached to the plane or it is an ordinary flight. However, one of the witnesses of the launch posted a video of the departing airport and Suites of the plane with a missile under the wing.

A Little later, the press service of the company confirmed that this was really the first test flight, but that is, in captive carry mode, i.e. without separation of the missile from the aircraft. The flight lasted about 90 minutes, during which the Boeing 747 flew not only over the Mojave desert, but over the spaceport, located in this area. Also, the press-service of the Virgin, Orbit claims that this is not the final test.

"we Plan a series of such flights, during which we will be collecting terabytes of valuable data about the aerodynamic characteristics, structural loading, and more. This test program will culminate in a test of the fall when the rocket is released in flight from the plane, but supposedly the engine will not start and it will fall to the Ground."

The Company did not give the date of its first launch into orbit, but Richard Branson in an interview with CNBC stated that it is tentatively to be held "in December or January."

This and other news you can discuss in our

Recommended

The Americans on the moon: what everyone should know?

The Americans on the moon: what everyone should know?

the Upcoming cosmonautics day is my favorite holiday. It marks the triumph of the human mind: in just four thousand years Homo Sapiens went from hunter-gatherers to space explorers. 12 April 1961 Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in ...

Why are some galaxies spiral shaped?

Why are some galaxies spiral shaped?

you Know what surprised me the most? The fact that we perceive the surrounding world as it is. Animals, plants, the laws of physics and the cosmos are perceived by many people as something so mundane and boring that they invent fairies, ghosts, monst...

Astronomers were able to see the death of another star system

Astronomers were able to see the death of another star system

In the cosmic ocean drifts a lot of mysteries about the existence of which we are unaware. One of these was uncovered five years ago, when astronomers have discovered a lonely star at a distance of 570 light years from Earth, the brightness of which ...

Comments (0)

This article has no comment, be the first!

Add comment

Related News

10 strange objects that may exist in space

10 strange objects that may exist in space

We are unlikely ever to explore the entire space. The universe is too big. Therefore, in most cases we have only to guess about what is happening there. On the other hand, we can refer to our physical laws and represent the cosmic...

The spacecraft observed an explosion in the Earth's magnetic field

The spacecraft observed an explosion in the Earth's magnetic field

the Magnetic field around the Earth to create strong bursts of energy, accelerating the particles and feeding the lights that illuminate the polar skies. July 11, 2017, four of the spacecraft NASA was watching one of those explosi...

"Hunter asteroids" NASA conducted a review of the main scientific tool

American interplanetary station OSIRIS-Rex space Agency NASA sent to hunt for the asteroid Bennu , had a successful health check tool, which shoulders the primary task of this mission . We are talking about a robotic hand TAGSAM (...

The company SpaceX has received permission to launch more than 7,500 Internet satellites

The company SpaceX has received permission to launch more than 7,500 Internet satellites

According to a press release, the U.S. Federal communications Commission (FCC) gave permission to a private company SpaceX launch, more than 7500 of communication satellites. They will become part of the proposed Elon Musk Starlin...

NASA will broadcast the landing a new lander on Mars

NASA will broadcast the landing a new lander on Mars

NASA has sent to the Red planet, a number of high-tech robots, but we usually know only about the fact landing, bypassing the stage of entering the atmosphere. This will change when the lander InSight, which should touch the surfa...

NASA and Autodesk are using an AI that designs new interplanetary landers

NASA and Autodesk are using an AI that designs new interplanetary landers

Despite the fact that a full-fledged mission to Mars has not yet happened, the various space Agency is not only planning a study of the red planet, but already looking into the future, developing and presenting community projects ...

Russian scientists have pledged to beat Elon musk and

Russian scientists have pledged to beat Elon musk and "outdated technology," SpaceX with nuclear missiles

Elon Musk and SpaceX will not be able long to lead the market of reusable space rockets, at least, this opinion was expressed in Russia. Research center. Keldysh working on reusable rocket for ten years and is now going to make so...

Astronomers have discovered a super-Earth at our nearest single-star

Astronomers have discovered a super-Earth at our nearest single-star

Astronomers have found evidence for the presence of extrasolar planets at Barnard's star — the next nearest single star. It belongs to the class of red dwarfs and is the constellation Ophiuchus about 6 light years from Earth...

Rocket Lab successfully launched the first carrier rocket Electron

Rocket Lab successfully launched the first carrier rocket Electron

the Us manufacturer of aerospace Rocket Lab completed its first successful commercial launch on Saturday, sending into orbit seven spacecraft, including six tiny satellites and a demonstrator of sail, on Board the relatively small...

"Roscosmos" refuses rocket "Soyuz-FG"

the Head of "Roskosmos" Dmitry Rogozin has shared on his Twitter plans for the next ten late. It became known that the operation of the carrier rocket "Soyuz-FG" will be discontinued at the end of 2019. Manned spacecraft "Soyuz MS...

Genetically modified bacteria can produce oxygen on Mars

Genetically modified bacteria can produce oxygen on Mars

Despite the fact that prior to the first mission to Mars is still far away, and colonization of the red planet while we can only dream of, scientists have been developing various options of how to equip the fourth planet from the ...

SpaceX will review the plan to launch Internet satellites due to space debris

SpaceX will review the plan to launch Internet satellites due to space debris

over the last several years, SpaceX has been working on her project Starlink, the purpose of which is to launch thousands of low-orbit satellites that will provide high-speed Internet access to people around the world. In February...

The Vietnam war proved the danger of powerful magnetic storms

The Vietnam war proved the danger of powerful magnetic storms

Powerful magnetic storms are included in the list of space disasters, can . The strong flow of the solar wind can knock out all the electronics, leaving the planet without light and heat, without which life is unimaginable. The st...

Solar probe Parker survived the first touch of humanity to the Sun

Solar probe Parker survived the first touch of humanity to the Sun

the solar probe Parker NASA survived the first close approach to the Sun, according to space Agency. The spacecraft officially is the only object of artificial origin, which came to our star of 25 million kilometers. Earlier this ...

Joint country action helped to strengthen the ozone layer of the Earth

Joint country action helped to strengthen the ozone layer of the Earth

Ozone, as a chemical element, very dangerous for the human body. However, being at an altitude of 20 km, it protects our planet from ultraviolet rays that can cause cancer in humans skin and cause global warming. To prevent destru...

China showed a model of their future space station

China showed a model of their future space station

the international Space Station (ISS) is currently the only facility where you can conduct various experiments and perform the long missions stay in weightlessness. This is one of the most ambitious projects of this kind. But very...

Kazakhstan refused from the services of Roscosmos and SpaceX chose. Why?

Kazakhstan refused from the services of Roscosmos and SpaceX chose. Why?

Starting on 20 November, the first two scientific and technology satellites KazSaySat (scientific purposes) and KazistiSat (technological purpose) of Kazakhstan decided not to carry out from the cosmodrome "Baikonur" forces of the...

Laid the Foundation for the biggest optical telescope in the world

Laid the Foundation for the biggest optical telescope in the world

At the moment, in several places of the world is building a revolutionary ground-based telescopes that promises to open the door to a new era of astronomical research. The mountain Mauna Kea, Hawaii, Australia, South Africa, North...

In the milky Way discovered one of the oldest stars in the Universe

In the milky Way discovered one of the oldest stars in the Universe

In February 2014, astronomers from the Australian national University found . It is located 6,000 light years from Earth in the constellation Hydra, and its age is 13.7 billion years. It turned out that the ancient there are stars...

Tesla Roadster, sent into space, past Mars

Tesla Roadster, sent into space, past Mars

Starman and his Tesla Roadster was officially far away from home. SpaceX confirmed that the test load, the Falcon Heavy has passed the orbit of Mars, being one of the greatest distances from the Sun (its furthest point it needs to...