Seattle, Washington-based Spaceflight recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Virgin Orbit – the Long Beach, California subsidiary of Virgin Group, that is looking to commercialize space travel. Spaceflight, which has launched over 140 satellites using several of their ten unique launch vehicles, will work with Virgin for a mission to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in 2019.
Virgin Orbit's Cosmic Girl is a 747-400 aircraft that will haul LauncherOne, the vehicle carrying Spaceflight's satellites, to an altitude of 35,000 feet before releasing LauncherOne for its rocket-powered flight into orbit. The two-stage expendable rocket, which is currently in the final stages of qualification, can place up to 1,300 pounds into orbit. Virgin Orbit aims to conduct multiple missions to LEO in 2018.
Spaceflight has used the Falcon 9, PSLV, Dnepr, Antares, and Soyuz launch vehicles. It recently announced agreements for launches on Electron, Vega, and now LauncherOne. The company claims to offer timely access to the equator and mid-latitudes, and sees the partnership with Virgin Orbit as a way to continue growing their service offerings.
This MOU further illustrates the growing market of commercial space access. While companies like SpaceX get more headlines, others like Spaceflight are also seeing the benefits of providing more timely, cost-effective satellite launching services, with the growing potential for space tourism in the near future.
Image Credit: Virgin Orbit / https://virginorbit.com/press/2018/8/01/welcome-home-cosmic-girl-virgin-orbits-747-400-rocket-launch-platform-lands-in-long-beach-airport