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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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Main Stage Hotfire: Our Biggest Test Yet

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This year, in addition to our ongoing efforts to O

This year, in addition to our ongoing efforts to Open Space for Good, we’re sharing some of the stories of our Black teammates making history right now at Virgin Orbit. Closing out this series is Margaret Francisco, our senior compliance counsel.

With her 19 years of legal experience — including a stint as Global Trade Compliance Specialist at orbital launch venture Sea Launch — Margaret deftly navigates the complexities of US export control laws. Thanks to her efforts and insight, our team can operate efficiently without running afoul of US government regulations, even when publicly sharing all of our favorite images of LauncherOne and Cosmic Girl.

For #BlackHistoryMonth, Margaret wants to remind others: “Never allow external circumstances and conditions to dictate the trajectory of your career. Dream big and chart a soaring path towards your highest aspirations – have no limits. One’s success is determined by maintaining an undaunted spirit, committing to becoming an indispensable asset, and aligning with individuals who will support, uplift and challenge you to achieve excellence.

We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us – be the same for those who will come after you.”

This year, in addition to our ongoing efforts to O

This year, in addition to our ongoing efforts to Open Space for Good, we’re sharing some of the stories of our Black teammates making history right now at Virgin Orbit. Read on to learn more about lead avionics technician LaMar Holley.

LaMar is one of our longest tenured employees, having been a part of the Virgin Orbit team since 2015, when we were still a department within @virgingalactic. In the time since, he’s become a go-to guy for precise avionics handiwork. Day to day, he works on building and testing avionics controllers, making wire harnesses, and working with the production team to finalize hardware for flight.

On the topic of #BlackHistoryMonth this year, LaMar had this to say: “We all want to move towards peace and fairness. So don’t just judge people off of how they look. Be open to taking chances on others, and get yourself used to being around different kinds of people. It’s a good time to be a part of a positive change.”

“The Search for Life” is the 3rd comic book in

“The Search for Life” is the 3rd comic book in our Virgin Orbit Chronicles series. In this issue, the Virgin Orbit team helps scientists launch a mission to search for life on the planet Venus.

This issue features the illustrations of the talented LA artist @lisakogawa_! Our Creative Director Jonathan Lo created this series in 2017 to tell inspiring stories about the potential of space. Each issue features a new collaboration with an in-house writer and a local artist.

Check out the digital version for the full adventure! virg.in/9mc

This year, in addition to our ongoing efforts to O

This year, in addition to our ongoing efforts to Open Space for Good, we’re sharing some of the stories of our Black teammates making history right now at Virgin Orbit. We’re proud to introduce the world to Isaac Hodge, our Senior Production Manager.

Isaac leads a team of about 40 in our Long Beach machine shop and engine assembly departments, overseeing the manufacturing of our NewtonThree and NewtonFour engines and related components. From highly advanced CNC machining to complex engine assemblies, Isaac ensures we stay on the cutting-edge when it comes to the production of our launch system, while also maintaining a high standard of quality, accuracy and speed.

Here are some of Isaac’s thoughts on #BlackHistoryMonth this year: “In February, people tend to begin to educate themselves and celebrate the many great things that Black people throughout history have contributed to our society. But I want them to also take the time to gain an understanding of the inequalities and struggles that still exist in the Black community today, and think about how they can support positive change. Education should extend beyond the shortest month of the year.”

From scientific experiments to tech demonstrations

From scientific experiments to tech demonstrations, we’re taking a closer look at each of the missions that flew to space onboard #LaunchDemo2.

As it floats in microgravity, @ucf.edu’s Q-PACE satellite will observe collisions of a set of 0.1mm to cm-sized particles housed within the satellite. This collision data will help improve our understanding of how planetesimals are formed, as well as the evolution of planetary rings.

From scientific experiments to tech demonstrations

From scientific experiments to tech demonstrations, we’re taking a closer look at each of the missions that flew to space onboard #LaunchDemo2.

A joint project between AMSAT and @vanderbiltu, RadFXSat-2 is a tech demo meant to advance our understanding of the effects of space radiation on microelectronic components. The data collected will be used to improve predictions of radiation tolerance of integrated circuits.

From scientific experiments to tech demonstrations

From scientific experiments to tech demonstrations, we’re taking a closer look at each of the missions that flew to space onboard #LaunchDemo2.

TechEdSat-7 is a @nasaames-sponsored spacecraft that will demonstrate a drag device called an Exo-Brake, which can accelerate the de-orbit of satellites from higher orbits. The satellite will also demo a new RFID system to improve future tracking of nanosatellites.

We’re proud to announce that the latest customer

We’re proud to announce that the latest customer to join our manifest is Poland’s @satrevolution_! Later this year, LauncherOne will deploy into orbit the first two satellites — STORK-4 and MARTA — of SatRevolution’s STORK Earth Observation constellation.

We’re honored to have been selected to help populate SatRevolution’s constellation, and are equally excited to play such a major role in facilitating Polish-American collaboration in space.

Our commitment to advocating for equality, diversi

Our commitment to advocating for equality, diversity and inclusion both at Virgin Orbit and in the broader space industry isn’t just limited to #BlackHistoryMonth. In truth, we believe the only way to generate meaningful change is to engage in perpetual efforts of self-reflection and direct action. It’s crucial that we constantly challenge ourselves to learn more and do more, aspiring always to find new ways to Open Space for Good.

This year, in addition to those ongoing efforts, we’re also pulling back the curtains to share some of the stories of our Black teammates making history right now at Virgin Orbit. Kicking off this series is structures engineer Dalya Omar.

Dalya is currently the Responsible Engineer for the hardware inside LauncherOne’s propellant tanks, overseeing elements like the composite overwrapped pressure vessels (or COPVs), which store and deliver gaseous helium and nitrogen to the engine system and serve as a major component of the rocket’s pressurization system. From day-to-day, her responsibilities range from from designing hardware and supporting test and manufacturing needs to analyzing integrated test and flight data.

Dalya hopes that this year’s #BlackHistoryMonth “serves to further fuel the momentum towards change by recognizing people of color around the world, and highlighting issues that are hardly invisible nor come with shock to Black people. I hope that this helps people recognize their fragility around racial issues and helps build their stamina to engage in the difficult, yet meaningful cross-racial conversations that are essential in inciting any change.”

From scientific experiments to tech demonstrations

From scientific experiments to tech demonstrations, we’re taking a closer look at each of the missions that flew to space onboard #LaunchDemo2.

The @miteecubesat, built by a team at @uofmichigan, is proving out the concept of an electrodynamic tether between satellites in space. Miniature ED tethers could be a simple way to enable smallsat constellations to function more like coordinated fleets rather than uncontrolled swarms.