'Cosmic Girl' to get two sisters , Virgin Orbit to acquire two Boeing 747-400 airframes via an agreement with L3Harris !

• “Cosmic Girl,” has completed three commercial missions of  Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket to date.
• Launch demands from U.S. national security and its allies’ has prompted Virgin Orbit to acquire two new airframes.
• L3Harris will modify one aircraft , aims to deliver Virgin Orbit’s second airborne launcher by 2023.
• New cargo configuration expected to enable foreign spaceport launch and transport of rockets, support equipment.

N744VG is going to get two sisters in B747-400 aircraft, as Virgin Orbit is all set to expand it's services and make the availability visible throughout the global demand.

Virgin Orbit  - the leading satellite launch company, has signed an agreement with L3Harris Technologies to acquire two Boeing 747-400 airframes to support the growing need for U.S. national security and allies’ satellite launch demands.

According to sources, the Current Cosmic girl, an Ex- Virgin Atlantic Airways Jumbo Aircraft ( Regd. G-VWOW) will be joined by at least one of the Ex- Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) B747 Jumbos (Regd. 20-1101 or 20-1102) , to aid in the orbital launches by the company.

L3Harris, the global aerospace and defense technology innovator , will modify one of the newly acquired aircrafts to serve as an additional airborne launch pad for Virgin Orbit’s small satellite launch service, with delivery expected in 2023.

That's not all , more is expected from the newcomer , some freight activity is being expected , L3Harris will also overhaul the platform with a new cargo configuration, which is expected to allow Virgin Orbit to deliver its rockets and ground support equipment in the same aircraft that will launch from foreign spaceports.

Air launch to orbit is the method of launching rockets at altitude from a conventional horizontal-takeoff aircraft, to carry satellites to low Earth orbit. It is a follow-on development of air launches of experimental aircraft that began in the late 1940s.

The companies previously collaborated to produce Virgin Orbit’s flagship aircraft “Cosmic Girl,” the first customized 747-400 aircraft to carry and deploy payloads to Low Earth Orbit under Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne program via Air launch method.

These new aircraft with improved layouts and possibilities of carrying two launch Rockets at a time , will also help the company keep launches going in case one of their aircraft is undergoing regular maintenance.

“Virgin Orbit is at an exciting juncture in our growth as a company,” said CEO Dan Hart. “As we expand our fleet to serve customers worldwide, we’re enthusiastic to once again partner with L3Harris.”

“It’s inspiring for our team to see L3Harris’ aircraft engineering and modification experience in action on a mission-enabling platform that has performed brilliantly in its space launch role,” said Luke Savoie, President, ISR Systems, L3Harris. “We’re excited to help double Virgin Orbit’s innovative fleet so they can serve their customers with greater capacity and mission flexibility.”

Virgin Orbit’s Cosmic Girl has completed three commercial launches , successfully deploying 26 customer satellites into orbit for multiple commercial, government and military customers.

Virgin Orbit is lined up for it's next scheduled mission, which is for the Pentagon to carry seven government satellites around the June end, also plans for the first launch from the United Kingdom expected later this year out of Spaceport Cornwall.

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Source : Virgin  Orbit .