Virgin Orbit (Virgin Orbit National Systems, VOX Space)

Enter Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne system: a rocket that combines proven technology with state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques to propel human curiosity to new heights.

• Sister company to Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company.
• Virgin Orbit’s ambitions go beyond more and larger launch vehicles. The company says it will establish a “space solutions” business, developing and launching a constellation of satellites to provide IoT and Earth observation services. Virgin Orbit foresees providing IoT services for the agriculture, aviation, maritime and pipeline monitoring markets and a “complete multimodal offering” of visible, infrared and radar imagery.
• The company plans to launch its first four satellites in early 2023, two with IoT payloads and two with imagery payloads. That would be followed by a “full constellation thereafter,” but it didn’t disclose the size of the constellation or when it would be deployed.
• Virgin Orbit looks beyond satellite launch for growth opportunities.
• LauncherOne Now in Orbit: Dedicated Air-Launch Brings Proven, Responsive Space: Access with Historic NASA VCLS Demonstration Mission, SmallSat 2021.
• Virgin Orbit to launch first Welsh satellite from UK Spaceport Summer 2022.
• Poland, Virgin Orbit partner on Eastern Europe satellite launch initiative.
• Virgin Orbit delays first U.K. launch. December, 2022, Spacenews.
• Virgin Orbit Expects to Return to Spaceport Cornwall After Launch Failure, Via Satellite, 2023-01-12.
• Virgin Orbit fails to secure funding, will cease operations and lay off nearly entire workforce, CNBC, 2023-03-31.
• Former Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart on the Milestones, Hopes, and Heartbreaks of Virgin Orbit’s Journey, 2024-01-22.