Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit successfully blasts satellites into space after failed first attempt

Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit successfully blasts satellites into space after failed first attempt

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit, with a rocket under the wing of a modified Boeing 747 jetliner, takes off for a key drop test of its high-altitude launch system for satellites from Mojave, California, July 10, 2019.Mike Blake | ReutersVirgin Orbit, the rocket company founded by billionaire Richard Branson, successfully put its first satellites into space using its novel air launch system.The California-headquartered company said that 10 mini-satellites had been carried into space by the same rocket, which was launched from the wing of an old Boeing 747 jumbo jet as it flew over the Pacific Ocean.The jet, nicknamed Cosmic Girl, took off from Mojave Air and Space Port at approximately 10:50 a.m. PST. Almost 60 minutes later, it dropped the "LauncherOne" rocket about 50 miles south of the California Channel Islands at a height of 35,000 feet.After release, the rocket engine ignited, accelerating LauncherOne into space. Around two hours later, at an altitude of 500 km, it deployed 10 shoebox-sized satellites, which were developed by universities and selected by NASA. The satellites will be used for space research purposes. "A new gateway to space has just sprung open," said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart in a statement. "That LauncherOne was