XPost: alt.science, alt.politics, alt.politics.republicans
XPost: alt.military
https://phys.org/news/2022-07-virgin-orbit-rocket-defense-satellites.html
A Virgin Orbit rocket carrying seven U.S. Defense Department
satellites was launched from a special Boeing 747 flying off
the Southern California coast and streaked toward space
Friday night.
The modified jumbo jet took off from Mojave Air and Space Port
in the Mojave Desert and released the rocket over the Pacific
Ocean, northwest of Los Angeles.
The launch was procured by the U.S. Space Force for a Defense
Department test program. The seven payloads will conduct
various experiments.
. . .
"Experiments" eh ? :-)
In any case, usually when we think of the Virgin space
effort we think of Branson and "tourist" flights.
However there IS a secondary, commercial/govt, program
using similar tech.
These days even "small" sats can yeild big results, and
the relative cheapness of the Virgin approach does offer
a lot of possibilities. If it's BIG, call Musk or ULA -
but if you can fit it into a small package then keep
Virgin on speed-dial.
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