Gallery: Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne Rocket for Satellite Missions
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Delivered daily
Daily Newsletter
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
Once a month
Watch This Space
Sign up to our monthly entertainment newsletter to keep up with all our coverage of the latest sci-fi and space movies, tv shows, games and books.
Once a week
Night Sky This Week
Discover this week's must-see night sky events, moon phases, and stunning astrophotos. Sign up for our skywatching newsletter and explore the universe with us!
Twice a month
Strange New Words
Space.com's Sci-Fi Reader's Club. Read a sci-fi short story every month and join a virtual community of fellow science fiction fans!
Conceptual Illustration of LauncherOne
Conceptual illustration of LauncherOne. Image released July 10, 2012.
Conceptual Illustration of LauncherOne in Flight
Conceptual illustration of LauncherOne in flight.
Satellite Released from LauncherOne
Conceptual illustration of a satellite after being released from LauncherOne. Image released July 10, 2012.
LauncherOne test article
A LauncherOne test article — an entire vehicle except for payload fairing and fins — leaves Virgin Orbit's Long Beach, California, factory for integrated stage testing.
Virgin Orbit's Cosmic Girl with pylon
Virgin Orbit's "Cosmic Girl" aircraft during a test flight to study the aerodynamic characteristics of the LauncherOne pylon attached to its left wing.
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.
