April 2019
Building the UK’s first spaceport
... rocket launches starting in 2021 using a modified former- Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747-400 aircraft named Cosmic Girl. Many spaceports throughout the world have already successfully obtained a launch licence by meeting their respective regulatory...
April 2020
Spaceport Cornwall – from protests to sustainability
...emissions. Horizontal launch is considered to be a possiblke route to cleaner and greener ;aunch technology. Virgin Orbit’s ‘Cosmic Girl’ system is an upcycled airliner and is 100 percent reusable. Currently its two-stage rocket, ‘LauncherOne’ is not...
April 2025
Spacecraft anomalies and insurance losses
... satellite mission launched from the UK failed due to a dislodged fuel filter. Virgin Orbit’s modified jumbo jet, ‘Cosmic Girl’ took off from Newquay, Cornwall on 9 January 2023, releasing the LauncherOne rocket over the Atlantic Ocean...
06 December 2015
Virgin Galactic to Use Boeing 747 for LauncherOne Missions
... history and maintenance record. In the end, the company settled on a young aircraft operated by Virgin Atlantic, nicknamed 'Cosmic Girl'. The vehicle was built by Boeing in 2001 and has been in commercial service with Virgin Atlantic until...
18 July 2018
Boost for UK space sector as Scotland and Cornwall to offer spaceport facilities
... space age.” Meanwhile, down in Cornwall, Virgin Orbit plans to use a modified Boeing 747-400 aircraft called “Cosmic Girl” – the first stage of its two stage orbital launch vehicle – to carry its LauncherOne rocket to around 35,000...
14 October 2019
First dedicated commercial smallsat mission to Mars unveiled
... by 2021, had a successful “drop test” of its rocket from its dedicated 747-400 carrier aircraft called “Cosmic Girl” in July. “Virgin Orbit is thrilled to join this consortium, as it speaks directly to our mantra of ‘opening space for everyone...
