In the month of June, our client Spaceflight, the company reinventing the model for launching small satellites into space, shared two exciting announcements detailing future launches with both Virgin Orbit and Rocket Lab.
The first announcement we released focused on three upcoming missions with Rocket Lab, scheduled to take place in 2018 and 2019. All three missions will lift off from the Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand and propel the customer spacecraft into Lower Earth Orbit. Spaceflight has procured capacity aboard each of these missions and will work with clients to integrate payloads into the space. Aboard those missions will be some impressive customers, including Canon Electronics and BlackSky, Spaceflight Industries’ geospatial intelligence platform.
Later in June, the company shared that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a mission to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in 2019 with Virgin Orbit aboard a LauncherOne. Virgin Orbit’s Cosmic Girl, a dedicated 747-400 carrier aircraft, will carry LauncherOne to an altitude of approximately 35,000 feet before release for its rocket-powered flight to orbit.
Both announcements are important milestones for Spaceflight and indicate the demand for rideshare launches, a reliable and affordable way for smallsats to access space.
Later this year, Spaceflight is scheduled to launch its first ever dedicated rideshare mission, SSO-A. The mission will take place on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Spaceflight purchased in full.
With all the exciting news, we want to share some of the results. Keep an eye out for more coverage about Spaceflight and the company’s exciting year ahead!
- Spaceflight strikes deal with Rocket Lab for three satellite launch extravaganzas—GeekWire, 6/11/18
- BlackSky, Canon Electronics Sign on for Spaceflight’s Upcoming Rocket Lab Launches—Via Satellite, 6/11/18
- Spaceflight books three Electron rockets—SpaceNews, 6/11/18
- Spaceflight launch services company adds Virgin Orbit and Cosmic Girl to its lineup—GeekWire, 6/25/18
- Spaceflight Boosts Smallsat Launch Range with LauncherOne—Via Satellite, 6/25/18
- While some NW space companies show progress, asteroid miner Planetary Resources is in rocky shape—The Seattle Times, 6/26/18
- Spaceflight plans to send satellites into space on a Boeing 747-launched Virgin Orbit rocket—Puget Sound Business Journal, 6/26/18
- SPACEFLIGHT ENTERS INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH VIRGIN ORBIT FOR RIDESHARE MISSION—Spaceflight News, 6/27/18
- LauncherOne Captive-Carry Test Flight Set For Early July—Aviation Week, 6/28/18