This is not a NASA Website. You might learn something. It's YOUR space agency. Get involved. Take it back. Make it work—for YOU.
by
Keith Cowing
Virgin Galactic Announces 747 Carrier for LauncherOne Orbital Vehicle (with video)
“Virgin Galactic has introduced a 747 to its fleet of vehicles as part of a technical update on its LauncherOne small satellite launch service. The 747-400 commercial jet aircraft, previously operated by Virgin Atlantic under the nickname ‘Cosmic Girl,’ will provide a dedicated launch platform for the LauncherOne orbital vehicle.”
Biologist, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Biologist and Payload integrator, Editor of NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com, Lapsed climber, Explorer, Synaesthete, Former Challenger Center board member 🖖🏻
More by Keith CowingComments are closed.
NASA Watch: Your support is needed, support independent journalism.
Thank you for whatever support you can provide. We recently launched this upgraded website which will allow us to expand our coverage. But the design and hosting come at cost, as does adding new services. We're also going looking to add new journalists as we expand.
We'll send a verification code to %EMAIL%.
This feels more like a face-saving exercise for VG than a realistic business model.
Maybe he should join forces ($$$) with Paul Allen? They’re both based on the same concept: in-flight launch. And Allen has, to some degree, finished the launcher, 2 747’s welded together … basically. And both started in Burt Rutan’s head.
And both Strato and Virgin are finding out that the business case for airborn launch doesn’t quite close. (I think Orbital found out the same about Pegasus, given its once every 24 month flight rate and $50M price tag.) Not to mention that launching liquids from a plane is very hard.
Wonder how much longer VG will exist. I interviewed with them for an engineering position in their operations division about 2 years ago, and all the managers assured me they would be flying within a couple months and just on the verge of moving to Las Cruces. And suggested I look for an apartment near Mojave and buy a house in Las Cruces as they were doing the same.
2 years later, the one person I know that still works there is still in Mojave, still has an empty house in New Mexico, and still isnt doing really anything.
Yet the managers are all cheerleading away, acting still as if flight is just right around the corner…