Virgin Orbit Is Assembling a Fleet of Boeing 747 Jets To Launch More Rockets Into Space

Virgin Orbit is assembling a fleet of modified 747 jets, the company announced Tuesday, ordering two new modified cargo airframes to help launch more rockets into space. CNBC reports: The company is acquiring the two additional airframes through L3Harris, which will modify the jets to carry and launch Virgin Orbit's rockets. Virgin expects to take delivery of the first of the planes next year. Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said the delivery timing of the second plane will be 'driven more by market demand' for launches. The deal 'unleashes us in a few ways,' he said. 'It eliminates one of the key chokepoints that we have in the system,' Hart told CNBC. It also will help the company keep launches going in case one of their aircraft is undergoing maintenance, which will open up 'all sorts of possibilities for supporting different customers in different places,' he added.

Virgin Orbit has a single aircraft, a customized Boeing 747-400 called 'Cosmic Girl,' which has flown four missions of Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket to date. Through a method known as air launch, the company's aircraft carries its rockets to about 45,000 feet of altitude and drops them just before they fire their engines and accelerate into space -- a method the company touts as more flexible than ground-based systems. Virgin Orbit's new 747s will also feature an improved layout, with L3Harris modifying the aircraft to carry up to two LauncherOne rockets, as well as all of the company's ground support equipment, to a launch site.

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