Virgin Orbit transports satellites to space for the first time

Virgin Orbit’s second launch demo flight was smoother than the first. The company has door client satellites in space for the first time after the Cosmic Girl host aircraft successfully deployed the LauncherOne rocket over the Pacific Ocean for its final test. The payload included nine missions from NASA and several universities, most of which launched cubesats and other tiny orbiters.

LauncherOne had not yet released the satellites at the time of writing, but Virgin said it had successfully crossed space and entered orbit. The first demo ended abruptly after LauncherOne did not turn on.