Virgin Orbit targets Sunday for LauncherOne mission from California
ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Virgin Orbit plans to try again Sunday to send 10 small science satellites for NASA and several universities into orbit using a a rocket launched over the Pacific Ocean.
The mission is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. PST when Virgin's Cosmic Girl aircraft, a modified Boeing 747, takes off from Mojave Air and Space Port 90 miles north of Los Angeles. The plane carries the LauncherOne rocket under its wing.
The company created a three-hour window for potential last-minute delays. Virgin scrubbed an attempt in December when employees entered quarantine because of COVID-19 exposure. The company also delayed the launch from last week.
Those who are sponsoring experiments hope they having been affected by the failure to carry out the mission sooner.
Read more: https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2021/01/15/Virgin-Orbit-targets-Sunday-for-LauncherOne-mission-from-California/4901610475793/
Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket, like one shown here in a 2019 test over the Pacific Ociean, is scheduled to launch science experiments for NASA and several universities on Sunday. Photo by Greg Robinson/courtesy of Virgin Orbit
