N - PRESS GUIDE - Virgin Orbit
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TURE CLAS
EN S
V
EL A N A X X
NASA
VIR
GIN ORBIT
LAUN
CH DEMO 2
PRESS GUIDE
JANUARY 2021
VIRGIN ORBIT PRESS GUIDE
Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket ignites in mid-air during
the company’s first Launch Demo in May 2020.
2
“THE BEST
WAY OF
LEARNING
ABOUT
ANYTHING
IS BY DOING.”
—RICHARD BRANSON
VIRGIN ORBIT PRESS GUIDE
3
Virgin Orbit teammates complete a dry run of the payload encapsulation
process ahead of the company’s Launch Demo 2 mission. August 2020.
Chief Test Pilot Kelly Latimer conducts a flight test with Virgin Orbit’s
carrier aircraft Cosmic Girl in late November 2020.
VIRGIN ORBIT PRESS GUIDE
Virgin Orbit teammates connect Cosmic Girl and LauncherOne to
ground support equipment on the runway in Mojave. January 30, 2020.
4
MISSION OVERVIEW
Launch Demo 2 marks Virgin Orbit’s second orbital launch attempt. Building on the
significant step forward the team took with our first Launch Demo in May earlier this year,
this demonstration test flight will serve as an additional learning opportunity as our company
begins its transition to commercial service.
Virgin Orbit’s air-launch technology is revolutionizing how we think about and conduct
launches to space, offering more flexibility, agility and responsiveness than any traditional
ground-based launch system. Our LauncherOne system enables easier access to space for
a broad variety of small satellite makers and operators — both government and commercial
customers alike.
The team is excited to have 9 CubeSat missions onboard LauncherOne during this test flight,
the first time Virgin Orbit will carry customer payloads. Contracted under NASA’s Venture Class
Launch Services (VCLS) program — an initiative intended to foster the development of new
commercial launch capabilities for innovative, risk-tolerant payloads — this flight marks the
20th Educational Launch of NanoSatellites (ELaNa XX) mission.
For this mission, Virgin Orbit’s carrier aircraft Cosmic Girl will depart from the Mojave Air and
Space Port in California before traveling out over the Pacific Ocean. After reaching the drop
point — approximately 50 miles south of the Channel Islands — Cosmic Girl will release the
two-stage LauncherOne vehicle, which will ignite its NewtonThree engine in midair. The flight
will then continue towards its ultimate target of Low Earth Orbit.
VIRGIN ORBIT PRESS GUIDE
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TIMING
The window for the Launch Demo 2 mission opens on Sunday, January 10th, with additional
opportunities to launch throughout January. We will only proceed with the mission if all
conditions for launch are nominal. Like all rockets, weather or other issues can cause delays;
should that happen, we have additional backup windows in the following weeks.
LAUNCH SITE
A two-hour drive north of Virgin Orbit’s manufacturing facility in Long Beach, California,
the Mojave Air and Space Port is a hub of flight testing, space industry activity, and aircraft
maintenance and storage. With a deep history in aerospace, it is the first facility to be licensed
in the United States for horizontal spacecraft launches, certified by the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) in 2004.
Mojave is an ideal location for Virgin Orbit’s early flight operations, as it is readily accessible
to staff in Long Beach, as well as our 50 or so teammates based at our rocket engine test site
nearby. Additionally, the launch site provides easy access to high inclination orbits such as
polar or sun-synchronous orbits, common for weather and Earth observation satellites.
Even as Virgin Orbit brings multiple other launch sites online in places like the U.K., Guam and
Japan, we expect the Mojave Air and Space Port to remain an attractive option for customers
who are most interested in high inclination orbits.
KEEP UP WITH THE ACTION
VIRGIN ORBIT PRESS GUIDE
This orbital test flight will not be publicly livestreamed. For real-time updates as the
mission progresses, follow us on Twitter (@Virgin.Orbit).
Due to capacity restrictions, we have not invited any media photographers or
videographers. However, we will be documenting the entire day via our in-house media
team. To access high-quality B-roll and photos captured on flight day, please reach out to
press@virginorbit.com.
6
OUR PEOPLE
Richard Branson Dan Hart
Founder, Adventurer, Serial Entrepreneur Virgin Orbit President and CEO
Mandy Vaughn Kelly Latimer
VOX Space President Chief Test Pilot
Eric Bippert Todd Ericson
Chief Pilot Co-Pilot
WHO YOU GONNA CALL?
For more information or to set up media interviews, please reach out to Kendall Russell
or submit an email to our press inbox (press@virginorbit.com).
Kendall Russell
Communications Officer
516 640 1624
Kendall.Russell@virginorbit.com
VIRGIN ORBIT PRESS GUIDE
7
ABOUT VIRGIN ORBIT
Founded by entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Orbit is working to bust open the
barriers that limit full utilization of space for all of humankind. We’ll do this by making
space launches more affordable, frequent and inclusive, and by enabling the thriving global
community of small satellite makers.
Virgin Orbit provides reliable, responsive and flexible launches for small satellites using
LauncherOne — a two-stage, expendable rocket launched from under the wing of a Boeing
747-400 called Cosmic Girl.
The satellites LauncherOne carries may be as small as a loaf of bread or as large as a home
refrigerator, and on any given flight the rocket will ferry 300 kg (660 lb) or more of cargo,
which could be one large satellite or dozens of smaller ones.
OUR PURPOSE
The ways that we use space to explore, connect and protect our planet are quickly changing,
driven largely by a new wave of satellite technology. New age satellites are growing smaller and
less expensive, cracking open an opportunity for more people, governments, and businesses
to get involved in the industry than ever before. But even the coolest satellites can’t help
anyone when they’re stuck on the ground.
Large, ground-based rockets have always and still will play a key role, but the market
desperately needs more affordable, flexible and responsive pathways to space. That’s where
LauncherOne comes in. Our goal is to lower the barriers to entry preventing easy access to
orbit, and satisfy the ever-increasing demand for dedicated small satellite launch services.
VIRGIN ORBIT PRESS GUIDE
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OUR ROCKET
LAUNCHERONE
70 FT 99+%
in length is manufactured in the USA
57,000 LBM 75%
is the typical takeoff weight of of atmosphere that LauncherOne
a LauncherOne rocket, including has cleared at the point of release
the satellites
5 SEC
8,000 MPH time between release of
is the typical maximum speed LauncherOne and ignition
of LauncherOne’s first stage of NewtonThree
17,500 MPH
is the typical maximum speed
of LauncherOne’s second stage
PAYLOAD
650-1,100 LBM
is the typical mass of
satellites we deliver to
orbit on each flight
NEWTONFOUR 310-745 MI
6 MIN is the typical altitude
run time at which we deploy our
customers’ satellites
Completed in
2 BURNS
to allow circularization
NEWTONTHREE of the desired orbit
3 MIN
run time 5,000 LBF
of thrust
73,500 LBF
vacuum-equivalent thrust
VIRGIN ORBIT PRESS GUIDE
9
JOURNEY SO FAR
A rigorous investigation and robust testing program has enabled Virgin Orbit to return to flight
just seven months after our initial launch attempt. Although LauncherOne did not reach space
during our first Launch Demo, we’re extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish.
In fact, we remain thrilled by just how much did go right: from a perfectly executed terminal
count to some of the most challenging portions of our flight — release, the controlled drop,
the rocket’s ignition sequence, and the initial portion of guided, powered flight — every part
of our system worked exactly as we designed it to do. Data from hundreds of channels and
sensors also confirmed that the rocket’s performance matched our predictions.
All in all, we proved out the foundational principles of our air-launch operations — an
immensely meaningful moment for us as a team and as a company.
Thanks to the mountain of data collected during the first Launch Demo, we were able to
quickly learn an enormous amount about what went well, what didn’t, and what might have
happened later in the flight. So, as mentioned in our updates since that flight, we took a “belt
and suspenders” approach when it came to implementing tweaks to LauncherOne; that is
to say, fixing the obvious issues we observed — by increasing the robustness of the aft end
structures, specifically — and also proactively addressing issues we didn’t observe but fell into
the realm of possible contributors.
Throughout that process, we’ve remained in lockstep with our friends at NASA, keeping them
informed of our findings and corrective actions. We believe it’s critical to share the good and
bad like. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) were glad to have insight into our plans and
appreciated our initial offer to fly another test prior to their mission. Ultimately though, they
assured us that they were ready to get their payloads onboard our Launch Demo 2 flight.
Our return to flight has taken a significantly shorter amount of time than is typical for new
launch vehicles, which often don’t fly a second time for a year or longer. We’ve benefited
hugely from our long-term planning, with a factory full of flight hardware that continues to
grow every day.
Following the successful execution of Launch Demo 2, Virgin Orbit intends to quickly pivot
to begin serving our growing manifest of customers. With subsequent rockets already in
production at our Long Beach manufacturing facility, the team is targeting a subsequent flight
to space in early 2021.
VIRGIN ORBIT PRESS GUIDE
10TERMS TO KNOW
• Cosmic Girl: Virgin Orbit’s 747-400 carrier aircraft, procured from the fleet of
Virgin Atlantic
• CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI): A NASA program that gives CubeSat developers
access to a low-cost pathway to conduct research in the areas of science,
exploration, technology development, education or operations.
• Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa): International Space Station
deployment opportunities or rideshare launches via existing launch services of
government payloads, as well as dedicated CubeSat launches from newly selected
VCLS contracts for the CubeSats selected through CSLI
• GSE: Ground support equipment; the set of mobile trailers we use for ground
operations before takeoff, including propellant loading
• Hammerhead: The staging area on the runway where Virgin Orbit sets up our mobile
ground support equipment
• Low Earth Orbit (LEO): the region between 400 and 1,000 miles above Earth
• LOX: Liquid oxygen, which we use as the oxidizer for LauncherOne
• Payload: What is being sent into orbit, generally a satellite
• Pylon: the structural mechanism that hooks LauncherOne to Cosmic Girl’s wing
• RP-1: Rocket Propellant-1 —a highly reformed form of kerosene which we use as the
fuel for LauncherOne
• Small satellites: Satellites of low mass and size, usually less than 1,100 lb
• Venture Class Launch Services (VCLS): Contract awards that constitute the
smallest class of launch services used by NASA to provide small satellites access
to LEO
• VOX Space: VOX Space, LLC, is Virgin Orbit’s wholly-owned subsidiary, which
provides the national security community of the US and allied nations with
responsive, dedicated and affordable launch services for small satellites bound for
Low Earth Orbit
VIRGIN ORBIT PRESS GUIDE
11PRESS GUIDE
JANUARY 2021
CONTACT
virginorbit.com
(562) 384-4400
info@virginorbit.com
CONNECT
@Virgin_Orbit
@virgin.orbit
facebook.com/virginorbit
youtube.com/virgin_orbit
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