Tag: Mojave Air and Space Port
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Virgin Orbit’s air-launched rocket fails on first test flight
Virgin Orbit’s carrier aircraft — a Boeing 747 named “Cosmic Girl” — took off from Mojave Air and Space Port at 2:56 p.m. EDT (11:56 a.m. EDT) Monday with the company’s LauncherOne rocket under its left wing. Credit: Matt Hartman / Shorealone Films Making its first flight, a privately-funded air-launched rocket developed and built by…
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Virgin Orbit eager for data from first flight of air-launched rocket
A view of Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne vehicle under the left wing of a Boeing 747 carrier aircraft at Mojave Air and Space Port in California. Credit: Virgin Orbit Virgin Orbit is setting modest expectations ahead of the company’s first attempt to reach orbit with a liquid-fueled air-launched rocket, emphasizing a hunger for flight data on…
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Virgin Orbit schedules its first orbital test launch this weekend
EDITOR’S NOTE: A launch attempt Sunday was scrubbed due to a faulty sensor. Virgin Orbit did not immediately announce a new target launch date. A full-scale mock-up of Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket falls away from a modified Boeing 747 carrier jet during an inert drop test in July 2019 over the Mojave Desert of California. Credit:…
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Virgin Orbit completes cryogenic captive carry test flight
Virgin Orbit’s rocket carrier aircraft, named “Cosmic Girl,” executes a pull-up maneuver to simulate the release of the company’s small satellite launcher. Credit: Virgin Orbit Virgin Orbit completed a captive carry flight of its liquid-fueled air-launched rocket Sunday over the Pacific Ocean in what the company described as its final development test before the small…
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Stratolaunch under new ownership
Stratolaunch’s aircraft flew on its first — and so far only — test flight April 13 from Mojave, California. Credit: Stratolaunch Stratolaunch said Friday that the company has “transitioned ownership” a year after the death of Paul Allen, the company’s billionaire founder who funded the construction of the world’s largest airplane for an airborne satellite…
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Rockets purchased by Stratolaunch back under Northrop Grumman control
File photo of a Pegasus XL rocket inside the Building 1555 processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin Hardware for two air-dropped Pegasus XL launchers previously purchased by Stratolaunch, a space launch company founded by the late billionaire Paul Allen, are now back under Northrop Grumman control and for sale to…
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Drop test moves Virgin Orbit closer to first satellite launch
A full-scale mock-up of Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket falls away from a modified Boeing 747 carrier jet Wednesday over the Mojave Desert of California. Credit: Virgin Orbit A full-scale model of Virgin Orbit’s air-dropped small satellite launcher, filled with water and antifreeze instead of rocket fuel, fell away from the wing of a modified Boeing…
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World’s largest airplane completes first flight
Stratolaunch’s rocket carrier jet, the largest in the world, took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port shortly after 7 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. EDT; 1400 GMT) Saturday. Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News Built for hauling rockets aloft to launch satellites, the world’s biggest airplane landed Saturday after a widely-anticipated test flight over California’s…
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Photos: Stratolaunch’s giant airplane flies over Mojave
Stratolaunch’s rocket carrier jet, the largest aircraft in the world by wing span, took off Saturday morning from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California for its first test flight. The twin-fuselage airplane took off at 6:58 a.m. PDT (9:58 a.m. EDT; 1358 GMT) Saturday and flew for nearly two-and-a-half hours, reaching a top…
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Virgin Galactic stages second piloted spaceflight
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION Virgin Galactic chief pilot Dave Mackay and co-pilot Michael “Sooch” Masucci at the controls of SpaceShipTwo during Friday’s test flight. Virgin Galactic’s chief astronaut instructor, Beth Moses, accompanied the pilots on the flight to the edge of space. Credit: Virgin Galactic Two test pilots and their instructor flew…