Engineering:Cosmic Girl (aircraft)

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Short description: 747 mothership for orbital rocket air launch


Cosmic Girl
Virgin Orbit 747 Cosmic Girl at Long Beach Airport.jpg
Virgin Orbit 747 Cosmic Girl at Long Beach Airport
Type Boeing 747-41R 44/32/310[1][2][3]
Manufacturer Boeing
Construction number 32745[2][3]
Manufactured 2001[1]
Registration
  • G-VWOW (2001 – 2015 with Virgin Atlantic)[1]
  • N744VG (2015 – onwards with Virgin Galactic[4] and Virgin Orbit[5])
First flight 29 September 2001[2]
Owners and operators
In service
  • 2001 – October 2015 (Virgin Atlantic)[6]
  • November 2015 – October 2017 (Virgin Galactic)[4]
  • October 2017 – May 2023 (Virgin Orbit)[5]
Status Expected to be refit to launch Stratolaunch's Talon.
Aircraft carried LauncherOne orbital rocket

Cosmic Girl is a Boeing 747-400 aircraft. A former passenger airliner operated by Virgin Atlantic, it was purchased by Virgin Galactic in 2015 to be used as the first stage launch platform (or mothership launch pad) for the air launch stage of the smallsat orbital launch vehicle, the LauncherOne. In 2017, the aircraft was transferred to the orbital launch subsidiary, Virgin Orbit, and its livery updated to Virgin Orbit. LauncherOne attempted its first launch on 25 May 2020; the launch was a failure. The first successful launch (second launch in total) took place on 17 January 2021.

Its parent, Virgin Orbit, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 4, 2023. It was subsequently sold at auction to Stratolaunch to compliment their existing Roc launch platform.[7]

Airliner

Cosmic Girl was assembled in 2001 at the Boeing Everett Factory.[2] It was configured as a 44/32/310 B747-41R,[1] c/n. 32745.[2] The aircraft's first flight was on 29 September 2001,[2] and it was delivered to Virgin Atlantic on 31 October 2001,[4] where it was registered as G-VWOW.[1]

On 3 November 2005, the aircraft was landing at Runway 27R at Heathrow Airport when a crosswind caused it to roll to the left, and the left-most (No. 1) engine struck the ground.[8]

The plane was transferred to Virgin Galactic in 2015 and re-registered in the United States as N744VG.

Cosmic Girl is currently based at Long Beach Airport.[9] For the second operational flight of the LauncherOne vehicle, however, the plane took off for a launch (which failed) from Newquay Airport, United Kingdom, on 9 January 2023.[10]

Launch platform

The jetliner was in-service with the airline until October 2015. The airliner, previously leased by Virgin Atlantic, was purchased outright by Virgin Group for Virgin Galactic, and registered as N744VG, in November 2015.[4][6] A 747 was selected due to its carrying capacity. The acquisition of the 747 allowed the use of separate carrying aircraft for SpaceShipTwo and LauncherOne.[11] With the spinoff of Virgin Orbit in 2017, Cosmic Girl was also transferred.[5]

Cosmic Girl and LauncherOne on the way out to sea

The air launch to orbit LauncherOne rocket was originally envisioned to operate from the smaller airplane WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) launch platform, used for the suborbital Tier 1b system of WK2 and SpaceShipTwo (SS2). As the size of LauncherOne expanded to better encompass the marketplace and acquire marketshare of small launches, the rocket outgrew WK2, leading to the evaluation of bigger launch aircraft, and the acquisition of Cosmic Girl for LauncherOne operations.[4][6] The use of a larger airplane allows doubling of LauncherOne payload capacity to 200 kilograms (440 lb), though with the selection of a 747, ultimately, 400 kilograms (880 lb) may be supported.[12] 747s have previously been used to air launch other craft, including the Space Shuttle Enterprise.[13] The use of Cosmic Girl marks the first use of a 747 as a space launch platform.[14]

Virgin Atlantic livery as G-VWOW, arriving on flight VS020/V from San Francisco to London Heathrow on 5 October 2013.

The LauncherOne attachment pylon is situated on the left wing, where on a normal 747, the fifth engine attachment point is located for ferrying engines. This point is located between the fuselage and the left inboard engine.[6] LauncherOne would be dropped from Cosmic Girl at a height of 35,000 feet (11,000 m).[15] The maximum payload limit for LauncherOne operations on Cosmic Girl is 400 kilograms (880 lb).[16]

Making its first flight on 25 May 2020, a privately funded air-launched rocket, LauncherOne, developed and built by Virgin Orbit, failed to reach space after release from Cosmic Girl over the Pacific Ocean.[17] The second launch, on 17 January 2021, successfully delivered 10 CubeSats to low Earth orbit (LEO).[18][19] Virgin Orbit's third launch (and first with commercial payloads, entitled "Tubular Bells") successfully launched on 30 June 2021. Launch 4 "Above the Clouds" successfully reached orbit on 13 January 2022. Launch 5 "Straight Up" successfully reached orbit on 1 July 2022.[20] After it was postponed several times due to regulatory issues,[10] the sixth launch took place on 9 January 2023. The rocket failed to reach orbit. It was the first and only failure for Virgin Orbit with commercial payloads. This final launch for Virgin Orbit marked its first international launch and the first ever rocket launched from UK soil. [21][22]

See also

  • Stargazer N140SC; the Orbital L1011 mothership for Pegasus rockets
  • Balls 8 52-008; the NASA NB-52B mothership for X-15 rocket planes, lifting bodies, and Pegasus rockets
  • WhiteKnightOne N318SL; the Mojave Aerospace Ventures mothership for the SpaceShipOne rocketplane
  • Shuttle Carrier Aircraft N905NA; the NASA B747 mothership that was used to air launch Enterprise for test flights

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "The Virgin Atlantic fleet of aircraft". Virgin Atlantic. http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/tridion/images/factsheetfleetofaircraft_tcm5-426050.pdf. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "N744VG Virgin Galactic Boeing 747-400". PlaneSpotters.net. https://www.planespotters.net/airframe/boeing-747-400-n744vg-virgin-galactic/rq96d3. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Boeing 747 – MSN 32745 – G-VWOW". AirFleets.net. http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-b747-32745.htm. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Chris Gebhardt and Nate Moeller (4 December 2015). "Virgin Galactic unveils Cosmic Girl, dedicated LauncherOne aircraft". NASAspaceflight.com. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/12/virgin-galactic-cosmic-girl-launcherone-aircraft/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Ex-Virgin Atlantic G-VWOW is now with Virgin Orbit as N744VG "Cosmic Girl"". World Airline News. 10 October 2017. https://worldairlinenews.com/2017/10/10/ex-virgin-atlantic-g-vwow-is-now-with-virgin-orbit-as-n744vg-cosmic-girl/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Jeff Foust (4 December 2015). "Virgin Galactic Acquires Boeing 747 for LauncherOne Missions". SpaceNews. http://spacenews.com/virgin-galactic-acquires-boeing-747-for-launcherone-missions/. 
  7. ↑ "Virgin Orbit To Close After Assets Divided Among Four Bankruptcy Bidders | Aviation Week Network". https://aviationweek.com/aerospace/commercial-space/virgin-orbit-close-after-assets-divided-among-four-bankruptcy-bidders. 
  8. ↑ "Boeing 747-41R, G-VWOW, 3 November 2005". Air Accidents Investigation Branch report. UK Government. https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/boeing-747-41r-g-vwow-3-november-2005. 
  9. ↑ "Virgin Orbit's Cosmic Girl Lands in Long Beach" (in en-US). 2017-08-01. https://virginorbit.com/welcome-home-cosmic-girl-virgin-orbits-747-400-rocket-launch-platform-lands-in-long-beach-airport/. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Virgin Orbit: First UK space launch from Cornwall faces delay". BBC News. 8 December 2022. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-63895835. 
  11. ↑ Virgin Galactic (7 December 2015). "Virgin Galactic - An Introduction to LauncherOne's Carrier Aircraft Cosmic Girl". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWeNops932Q. 
  12. ↑ Andrew Trotman (4 December 2015). "Richard Branson to launch rockets into space using Boeing 747". The Daily Telegraph (London). https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/12032503/Richard-Branson-to-launch-rockets-into-space-using-Boeing-747.html. 
  13. ↑ Brian Mastroianni (4 December 2015). "Virgin Galactic plans to launch satellites from jumbo jet". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/virgin-galactic-plans-to-launch-satellites-from-jumbo-jet/. 
  14. ↑ Virgin Galactic (4 December 2015). "Welcoming Cosmic Girl - Highlights". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLUXO_YdTDc. 
  15. ↑ Christian Davenport (3 December 2015). "Richard Branson unveils his rocket's new "mothership", a 747 he calls "Cosmic Girl".". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/12/03/richard-branson-unveils-his-rockets-new-mothership-a-747-he-calls-cosmic-girl/. 
  16. ↑ Matt Payton (4 December 2015). "Virgin to adapt a Boeing 747 into a flying launchpad for their Galactic spaceship". Metro.co.uk. http://metro.co.uk/2015/12/04/virgin-to-adapt-a-boeing-747-into-a-flying-launchpad-for-their-galactic-spaceship-5543984/. 
  17. ↑ https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/05/25/virgin-orbits-air-launched-rocket-fails-on-first-test-flight/ - 25 May 2020
  18. ↑ Christian Davenport (2021-01-17). "Virgin Orbit rocket reaches Earth orbit, adding an entrant to the commercial space race". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/17/richard-branson-virgin-orbit-launch-success/. 
  19. ↑ Sam Shead (2021-01-18). "Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit successfully blasts satellites into space after failed first attempt". CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/18/richard-bransons-virgin-orbit-blasts-satellites-into-space-from-747.html. 
  20. ↑ "Missions". https://virginorbit.com/missions/. 
  21. ↑ "Disappointing end to UK space mission as satellites fail to reach orbit" (in en). 2023-01-10. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jan/09/uks-first-orbital-rocket-mission-takes-off-from-cornwall. 
  22. ↑ Cooban, Anna (2023-01-09). "Virgin Orbit counts down to first space launch ever from UK soil | CNN Business" (in en). https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/09/business/virgin-orbit-uk-satellite-launch-scn/index.html. 




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