{"id":2795,"date":"2021-02-03T14:00:29","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T14:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/?p=1337148"},"modified":"2021-02-03T14:00:29","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T14:00:29","slug":"virgin-orbit-launched-a-rocket-from-a-plane-heres-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=2795","title":{"rendered":"Virgin Orbit launched a rocket from a plane \u2014 here\u2019s how"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Earlier this month, ten cubesats \u2013 small, cheap satellites weighing about a kilogram each \u2013 were sent into orbit around Earth. With almost 1,500<\/a> of these small satellites launched so far, adding another ten might seem trivial. But this was no ordinary launch.<\/p>\n

Instead of lifting off from the ground, the rocket carrying these Nasa satellites<\/a> was slung under the wing of a modified Boeing 747, called Cosmic Girl. The plane carried them to a height of 11 km (6.8 miles) before launching the rocket.<\/p>\n

This was the first successful launch<\/a> of Virgin Orbit\u2019s LauncherOne rocket, marking the start of its commercial ventures. The company hopes to provide cheap, flexible satellite launching services, without the need to use sites on the ground.<\/p>\n

But how does launching a rocket from a plane actually work?<\/p>\n

[Read: How much does it cost to buy, own, and run an EV? It\u2019s not as much as you think<\/span><\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n

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<\/i><\/a>She\u2019s just a Cosmic Girl. Virgin Orbit<\/a>\/Greg Robinson, CC BY<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Launching from a plane<\/h2>\n

Usually, a rocket launched from a launch site on the ground will have two or three stages, which allow the rocket to shed weight as it uses up fuel. The first stage is the part that ignites at launch, powering the rocket from the ground. When the rocket reaches a certain altitude, the first stage then separates, leaving the second to ignite. A third stage operates on the same principle and typically places the payload \u2013 the part we want to get into space \u2013 in its final orbit or interplanetary trajectory.<\/p>\n

When satellites are launched from a plane, the carrier aircraft functions as both a launch site and a reusable first stage of the rocket.<\/p>\n

Aircraft are more efficient than rockets at getting off the ground, but they cannot function without an atmosphere to generate aerodynamic lift. Air-launching takes advantage of this by attaching a rocket to an aircraft and releasing it at a high altitude.<\/p>\n

As well as saving fuel getting off the ground, aircraft launches offer other benefits. Traditional rocket launches are often repeatedly delayed by bad weather conditions. With an aircraft, it\u2019s easy to change launch sites because it can take off from a commercial airport. Pesky weather conditions can simply be flown around, and different launch requirements for different spacecraft can easily be accommodated.<\/p>\n

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\"The
<\/i><\/a>The payload. Virgin Orbit\/Greg Robinson<\/a>, CC BY<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

There are limits<\/h2>\n

Of course, air-launching isn\u2019t a perfect solution. The size of the rocket is limited to the carrying capacity of the aircraft. A dedicated carrier aircraft may be able to carry much more, but for now, there is not much scope for larger launchers.<\/p>\n

Stratolaunch, the developers of the enormous carrier aircraft of the same name able to carry a rocket weighing 250 tons, abandoned<\/a> its heavy-lift launch vehicle program in 2019. For comparison, LauncherOne weighs 30 tons, and will only be used to carry small satellites.<\/p>\n

Launching a rocket 10 km from the ground saves some fuel, but most of the fuel required to achieve orbit is not in gaining height, but getting it moving with enough speed so that it falls into orbit. While the flight speed of an aircraft can make a small contribution to this requirement, the fuel-saving from air launch is not as large as it might first appear.<\/p>\n

A relatively small launch vehicle, LauncherOne, has the capacity to launch 500kg into low earth orbit. Heavy-lift launchers like Ariane, Delta, and Falcon can launch many times this weight and will continue to be used for large satellites and interplanetary missions.<\/p>\n

But large, expensive launches aren\u2019t Virgin Orbit\u2019s target audience. For small satellites, cubesats, micro-satellites, and nano-satellites \u2013 all of which are being rapidly adopted by the space industry \u2013 air launches could represent a significant improvement in versatility and, crucially, cost.<\/p>\n

In the video below, LauncherOne\u2019s first successful launch\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n