Virgin Orbit successfully launches its first commercial mission

Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart appear together on the launch broadcast.

Branson stated, “It’s a pinch yourself moment.” “We have a good understanding of how the system operates in general. There are a number of people that require satellites in orbit, and we’ll be able to provide them.”

SatRevolution and the Royal Netherlands Air Force successfully launched satellites into 500 km Low-Earth Orbit for the US Department of Defense (DoD) (LEO).

As part of the Space Test Program’s (STP) Rapid Agile Launch (RALI) Initiative, the mission launched three cubesats for the Department of Defense.

The Defense Innovation Unit awarded this launch to Virgin Orbit subsidiary VOX Space (DIU).

The flight also carried the Netherlands’ first military satellite, BRIK II, a cubesat constructed and assembled by Innovative Solutions in Space for the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

This launch comes less than six months after the business first reached orbit in January with the Demo 2 mission, which delivered ten payloads for NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP).

LauncherOne became the first orbital-class, air-launched, liquid-fueled rocket to reach orbit after that demonstration.

Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said, following the Demo 2 mission that the company is striving to create a launch cadence of around every other month for the rest of the year, and subsequently increase frequency.