Family-level launch record combining canonical variants, historical missions, public cadence forecasts, and available payload performance specs.
Historical missions are grouped by actual launch year. Forecast cadence uses family-level launch-rate rows.
| Year | Historical missions | Forecast launches |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 |
Payload capacity by variant and target orbit when structured capacity rows are available.
| Variant | Orbit | Capacity | Altitude | Inclination | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No performance specsNo structured payload capacity rows are linked to this vehicle family. | |||||
Latest launched missions using variants in this family.
| Mission | Variant | Launch |
|---|---|---|
| Launch 2023-F01 | LauncherOne | Jan 9, 2023 |
| STP-S28A | LauncherOne | Jul 2, 2022 |
| STP-27VPB | LauncherOne | Jan 13, 2022 |
| STP-27VPA |
Canonical variants rolled up into this launch vehicle family.
| Variant | Stages | Missions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
LauncherOne | Not stated | 6 | Retired |
LauncherOne |
| Jun 30, 2021 |
| Elana XX | LauncherOne | Jan 17, 2021 |
| Launch 2020-F04 | LauncherOne | May 25, 2020 |
Upcoming mission rows with announced launch timing.
| Mission | Variant | Announced |
|---|---|---|
No forecasted missionsNo upcoming announced mission rows are linked to this vehicle family. | ||
The payloads onboard LauncherOne for the 2021-01-17 mission were selected by NASA’s Launch Services Program as part of the CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI).
The 2021-01-17 LauncherOne mission successfully deployed 10 payloads for NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP).
The LauncherOne development program dates back to July 2012 when Virgin Galactic announced its intent to develop a small launch vehicle to complement SpaceShipTwo.
Virgin Galactic spun out the LauncherOne project into a separate company, Virgin Orbit, in 2017.
The company’s Boeing 747 carrier aircraft, Cosmic Girl, took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California at 1:38 p.m. Eastern with the LauncherOne rocket attached.
Nearly all of the cubesat missions on the LauncherOne flight were designed, built, and tested by U.S. universities including Brigham Young University (PICS), the University of Michigan (MiTEE), and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (CAPE-3).
Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket reached orbit on its second flight on 2021-01-17.
Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket reached space during the company’s second launch demonstration on 2021-01-17.
LauncherOne was originally planned to use the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft but the company later acquired a Boeing 747 for use as the carrier aircraft.
The 2021-01-10 LauncherOne mission will carry 10 NASA-sponsored cubesats from eight universities and one NASA field center arranged through NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative program.
LauncherOne will be carried aloft by a modified Boeing 747 taking off from Mojave Air and Space Port and released off the coast of Southern California.
NASA awarded a contract for the LauncherOne mission in 2015 as part of its Venture Class Launch Services program.
Virgin Orbit attached the LauncherOne rocket to its Boeing 747 carrier aircraft on 2020-11-13.
Virgin Orbit shipped the LauncherOne rocket from its factory in Long Beach, California to the Mojave Air and Space Port for the Launch Demo 2 mission.
Virgin Orbit shipped the LauncherOne rocket for the Launch Demo 2 mission from its factory in Long Beach, California to the Mojave Air and Space Port earlier 2020-11.
Virgin Orbit plans to establish LauncherOne operations at multiple locations, including on the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean.
LauncherOne is deployed from a modified Boeing 747 airliner.
Spaceport Cornwall officials expect launches using Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne to begin by early 2022.
Cornwall Airport Newquay is seeking to host Virgin Orbit launches using the LauncherOne air-launch system under the name Spaceport Cornwall.
ExoTerra’s Solar Electric Propulsion Upper Stage could enable LauncherOne customers to reach geostationary orbit, trans-lunar injection orbit, Earth-Moon Lagrange points, and low lunar orbit.