Virgin Galactic is well known for space tourism adventures but it had also been working on small satellites in order to claim its piece of the industry. Now Virgin Galactic is launching Virgin Orbit, a company dedicated to launching small satellites. The addition of this new company means that the Virgin Group now has three companies dedicated to small satellites under its belt.
The Virgini Galactic company is still the primary face of space tourism. According to the Verge, Currently, that company is testing out its SpaceShipTwo vehicle — a spaceplane that launches from a carrier aircraft — to make sure its ready to safely carry people to the edge of space. The Virgin Group’s other space subsidiary is The Spaceship Company, which designs and manufactures vehicles for Virgin Galactic. All three of these ventures are grouped together under a single portfolio, known as Galactic Ventures.
The Virgin Orbit will begin working on rockets that will send small satellites into orbit and the launchpad for the rockets that will send the small satellites into space. The current rocket is being designed to send small cargo into lower Earth orbit. It already has a list of satellites that are ready to launch.
For more on this story, check out the Verge.
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