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Making Space for Women in STEM

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A Moment with a Mission Manager: Jeff Kwong

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LauncherOne Arrives in Mojave

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A Moment with a Mission Manager: Scott Higginbotham

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Our 2020 Service Guide: A Smoother Path to Orbit

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Welcoming Our New Chief Pilot

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Pride 2020 at Virgin Orbit

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A Reflection on Juneteenth

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Strive to Make a Difference: 1,000 Free Bridge Ventilators for Africa

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On Our Sustainability Philosophy

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Wait for the Drop

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UK Space Agency Selects Spaceport Cornwall and Virgin Orbit to Bring Horizontal Space Launch to the UK

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Happy #NationalSpaceDay from the Virgin Orbit team

Happy #NationalSpaceDay from the Virgin Orbit team!

We’re delighted to announce our next mission to

We’re delighted to announce our next mission to space!

This June, Cosmic Girl and LauncherOne will carry to orbit payloads for the @deptofdefense Space Test Program; Poland-based @satrevolution_; and the Royal Netherlands Air Force (@koninklijkeluchtmacht).

We’re calling this mission “Tubular Bells, Part One,” in homage to the first track and first album ever released by Virgin Records.

Tap the link in our bio to learn more about the mission and the story behind its name. And we have another exciting announcement: for the first time ever, we’ll host a public livestream so you can cheer on the mission from home.

Stay tuned for more info as launch day approaches!

Mojave, Cornwall, Oita, Guam — and now, Alcânta

Mojave, Cornwall, Oita, Guam — and now, Alcântara! 🌎

The Brazilian Space Agency and Brazilian Air Force announced today that Virgin Orbit has been selected to bring orbital launches to Brazil. 🛫🇧🇷

The transportability of our launch system would allow us to operate Cosmic Girl and LauncherOne from the existing airbase at Alcântara Space Center — one of the only continental spaceports in the world that can support missions to *any* orbital inclination.

At Alcântara, our goal is to have essentially zero footprint on the ground: we’ll transport in our entire system — ground support vehicles, Cosmic Girl & the rocket itself — to conduct a launch campaign in a country that has never successfully completed a launch to orbit before.

For the Brazilian community, LauncherOne offers the fastest and most affordable route to a dream that has remained out of reach for over 40 years: a domestic launch capability, which comes with immense scientific and economic benefits without requiring any further land use.

Of course, big thanks to the Stennis team for all

Of course, big thanks to the Stennis team for all their support getting this new test program online! We’re honored to be a part of this facility’s incredible legacy.

The Virgin Orbit team is feeling the heat down in

The Virgin Orbit team is feeling the heat down in Mississippi!

As part of our efforts to develop the next generation of Newton engines, we recently embarked on a major test series in partnership with our friends at @nasastennis.

In the same way that auto makers release new car models year after year, rocket builders too are always looking ahead to the next level of innovation when it comes to our launch vehicles.

Build, test, iterate: a tried and true path to the future.

Bringing some of that work over to Test Cell E-1 at Stennis not only allows us to keep our Mojave test stands humming with other activities, it also gives us the flexibility to experiment with more extensive modifications to our hardware’s design.

As always, we’ll share our favorite hotfire clips, gifs and photos as testing continues — stay tuned.

It’s so worth taking a few extra seconds to prop

It’s so worth taking a few extra seconds to properly recycle your refuse: not only will your local recycling center appreciate the effort, it’s an easy way to help care for our planet! 🌎

In honor of #EarthDay, here are a few tips on how to improve your usual recycling routine.

Here at Virgin Orbit, just one of the ways we recycle is by working with @WasteManagement to convert our food waste into renewable energy that powers their vehicles. Recycling one ton of food waste is equivalent to eliminating the annual CO2 emissions from 30 cars on our Southern California roads. In the first three months of 2020, we recycled 11 tons of food waste — and nearly 34 tons in all of 2019!

We’ve had to pause this program due to Covid, but can’t wait to restart as soon as it’s safe and healthy to do so.

Some great news today as we’ve just added a new

Some great news today as we’ve just added a new mission to our manifest! Our team will launch a series of six hyperspectral satellites for a constellation currently being developed by HyperSat and QinetiQ US. Welcome to the Virgin family!

Check out the latest blog at our home on the web for more.

More than a year after the emergence of Covid-19,

More than a year after the emergence of Covid-19, it’s heartening to see the light at the end of the tunnel as parts of the world begin to reopen. Here in LA, the @californiasciencecenter has just unveiled its new Covid-19 exhibit — and we couldn’t be prouder to see our ventilator included.

Spurred by requests from the local medical community, this bridge ventilator project was one of our most rewarding activities this past year. With support from expert advisors, we were able to quickly create our design & deliver a total of 600 units to the state of California.

We also shared the design for free with orgs like Invictus Holdings in South Africa, enabling distribution to particularly vulnerable communities. Check out @californiasciencecenter’s site to learn more about the exhibit, called “All in This Together.” virg.in/Zs8m

Cosmic Girl gives LauncherOne a massive headstart

Cosmic Girl gives LauncherOne a massive headstart on the way to space, traveling at an incredible velocity and angled sharply upward at the moment of release.

Once in flight, the rocket then gimbals to stay on course. As you can see, NewtonThree has a surprising range of motion!

What’s cooler than bringing a VIP to visit your

What’s cooler than bringing a VIP to visit your launch platform? Bringing your launch platform to visit the VIP! Thank you, Gen. Jay Raymond, for taking the time to talk with us about the unique advantages of air-launch.

Special thanks to our friends at @virgingalactic and @spaceport.america for hosting our team and Cosmic Girl. You’ve built something truly beautiful!