Since the beginning of the year, Virgin Orbit has been busy working towards an orbital launch demo with Launcher One. Between flight sims, loading rehearsals and more, the company has validated a many procedural and technical parameters. At press time, the rocket, the aircraft and support equipment are positioned next to the runway at the Mojave Air and Space Port ready for launch.

In January, the Virgin Orbit team has been firing on all cylinders as they make final preparations for their upcoming launch demonstration.

“We ran through multiple rounds of propellant loading rehearsals, completed fully auto sequenced flight simulations from ground ops all the way through to captive carry, upgraded and installed a few bits of hardware on the rocket itself, and much, much more,” said the company. “All of this forward momentum has pushed us closer than ever to actually lighting this candle.”