Earlier this month, ten cubesats – small, cheap satellites weighing about a kilogram each – were sent into orbit around Earth. With almost 1,500 of these small satellites launched so far, adding another ten might seem trivial. But this was no ordinary launch.
Instead of lifting off from the ground, the rocket carrying these NASA satellites was slung under the wing of a modified Boeing 747, called Cosmic Girl. The plane carried them to a height of 11km before launching the rocket.
This was the first successful launch of Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket, marking the start of its commercial ventures. The company hopes to provide cheap, flexible satellite launching services, without the need to use sites on the ground.
But how does launching a rocket from a plane actually work?
Launching from a plane
Usually, a rocket launched from a launch site on the ground will have two or three stages, which allow the rocket to shed weight as…