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Spinoff story
Plane-Launched Rocket Opens Up Space for Small Satellites
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
Small satellites have had to piggyback on larger missions, restricting when they could launch and to what orbit. Virgin Orbit, located in Long Beach, California, is eliminating that constraint with its LauncherOne rocket, a small rocket that launches after a plane carries it up 35,000 feet. Under NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, Ames Research Center helped model the aerodynamic performance of the plane/rocket configuration, and Marshall Space Flight Center and Glenn Research Center experimented with 3D-printed bimetallic combustion chambers that will bring down Virgin’s manufacturing costs.