Virgin Orbit has carried out its first successful night launch. During the Straight Up mission, it launched seven satellites into orbit for the US Space Force.
The carrier plane Cosmic Girl (converted Boeing 747) took off from the Mojave Spaceport on the morning of July 2. Upon reaching a given area over the Pacific Ocean, the crew of the aircraft dropped the LauncherOne rocket, which then activated the engine and began to rise.
The mission was successful. LauncherOne has successfully launched seven experimental spacecraft into a 500-kilometer orbit in contact with the US Space Forces. Among them are satellites designed to measure solar radiation, devices for testing GPS system components and cubesats designed to demonstrate the possibility of performing reconnaissance tasks.
The last launch was the fifth for LauncherOne (four of them were successful) and the first to take place at night. The next Virgin Orbit space mission is scheduled for September. Within its framework, Cosmic Girl will take off from the territory of the Cornwall spaceport. If successful, LauncherOne will be the first orbital rocket launched from the UK.
Recall that recently the head of Virgin Orbit Richard Branson visited Gostomel.
According to https://virginorbit.com
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