Virgin Orbit
All Nippon Airways brings Virgin Orbit to Asia
The parent company of All Nippon Airways
will partner with air launch company Virgin Orbit by granting it access to the fleets of Japan’s largest airline to send small satellites into orbit with its wing-carried LauncherOne rockets.
Pending government approval, Japan would be the site of LauncherOne’s Asia debut for its plan to make Boeing 747 aircraft into flying launch pads,
ANA Holdings and Richard Branson’s Virgin say in a joint statement on 6 June announcing the memorandum of understanding.
Virgin Orbit is test flying its 747-400 aircraft nicknamed “Cosmic Girl” in Mojave Air and Space Port in California as part of the effort to gain approval from US regulators.
The plan for each launch contract is to carry a single LauncherOne on the wing of a 747 with a satellite attached and drop it from the flying aircraft before the rocket ignites and propels into orbit.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/all-nippon-airways-brings-virgin-orbit-to-asia-458750/