LauncherOne to loft defense and commercial satellites on first operational flight nasaspaceflight.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nasaspaceflight.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The secondary mission is to perform scientific experiments involving radiation detection and take pictures of Earth.
The solar-powered spacecraft, created by UL Lafayette’s CAPE Satellite Team, was launched with nine other CubeSats as part of NASA’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (
ELaNa) program. A Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket attached beneath a wing of a customized Boeing 747 was dropped high above the Pacific Ocean. It climbed about 225 miles above Earth and then ejected the satellite.
The CAPE satellites are named for the university’s Cajun Advanced Picosatellite Experiment program, designed to prepare students for careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
Spaceflight Insider
Cullen Desforges
January 18th, 2021
Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne successfully ignites its engine moments after being dropped by a carrier aircraft to begin its flight toward orbit. Credit: Virgin Orbit
After several hours filled with hopeful anticipation, California-based company Virgin Orbit successfully air-launched its LauncherOne rocket Jan. 17 over the Mojave Desert.
Virgin Orbit confirmed in a series of tweets that the launch vehicle successfully separated from the company’s 747 carrier aircraft “Cosmic Girl” at 11:39 a.m. PST (7:39 p.m. UTC) and had begun the climb to space.
There was confirmation of a successful orbit, however the company initially appeared to remain silent on whether the second stage burn of rocket had been achieved in order to release its payloads into nominal orbit.
UL Lafayette students CAPE-3 satellite collecting data for NASA as it orbits Earth
UL Lafayette / Virgin Orbit
A tiny satellite built by student researchers at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette was launched into space Sunday to measure radiation levels as it orbits Earth. âThe CubeSatâ left the Mojave Air and Space Port in California inside a Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket attached beneath a wing of a customized Boeing 747.
By: Charlie Bier, UL Lafayette Office of Communications
Posted at 8:41 AM, Jan 19, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-19 14:03:09-05
A tiny satellite built by student researchers at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette will help NASA develop technology designed to keep astronauts safe.