Space - Virgin med Launcher One - AVWeb / Curt Lewis

Virgin Rolls Out 747 Rocket Launcher   RUSS NILES     Virgin Orbit has rolled out its solution for making space more accessible to those who want to put small payloads into orbit. The company has modified a Boeing 747-400 to take a 57,000-pound, 70-foot rocket on a launcher between the inboard left engine and the fuselage. The rocket, called LauncherOne, was lifted into place and readied for launch in less than 24 hours at Long Beach Airport. The plan is to make a series of test flights with the rocket attached to assess the flight characteristics of the combination before doing drop tests toward a live launch sometime in 2019. The plane will take the rocket to about 35,000 feet before releasing it. The air launch method, which has been used by NASA, the military and private companies over the years, eliminates much of the time, expense and peril from conventional launch systems but payloads are limited. The Virgin Orbit system can hoist about 1,100 pounds to low-earth orbit. That’s attractive to many companies for communications, weather and various other sensing and relaying applications. Sir Richard Branson just strapped a giant rocket to a 747 jet airplane with his space company Virgin Orbit Virgin Orbit's modified "Cosmic Girl" jet airplane will soar the "Launcher One" orbital rocket to a mid-flight launch. Virgin Orbit; Business Insider Sir Richard Branson's newest space company, Virgin Orbit, just debuted its full rocket-and-airplane launch system for the first time. The airplane is a commercial 747-400 jet called "Cosmic Girl," and the orbital-class rocket is named "LauncherOne." Virgin Orbit aims to use the retrofitted jet to tow LauncherOne as high above Earth as possible, release the rocket, and then blast a small-satellite payload into orbit around Earth. "Air launch frees missions from traffic jams at the existing launch sites; eliminates the need for costly, fixed ground infrastructure; and makes the system more resilient to unfavorable weather conditions," the company said in an emailed press release. Here's what the new system looks like.