Our mission manifest spans oceans and borders, featuring customer payload teams from places as far-flung as Poland and the Netherlands, all eager to fly to space on LauncherOne.

The most recent addition to our manifest, however, comes from a little closer to home here in the US. We're proud to welcome HyperSat to the Virgin family, a cutting-edge aerospace company based in New York that's on a mission to redefine the limitations of Earth observation. 

HyperSat has partnered with QinetiQ US to develop the satellites, supported by a team of specialist engineering and technology organizations from across the country, including Redwire, Millennium Engineering and Integration, and Brandywine Photonics. Once launched into Low Earth Orbit (LEO), these satellites will be able to capture and process images at wavelengths spanning the entire reflective spectrum, from visible light to longwave infrared. This enables the identification of objects in an image — whether that's diseased crops in a harvest or gas leaking from a pipeline — with superb precision.

The granularity of this data could be hugely beneficial not only for defense and national security applications, but for commercial industries like agriculture and insurance. 

Putting aside our coastal rivalry for a moment, it's awesome to see innovative American satellite companies at the forefront of the bustling small satellite revolution. We can't wait to get their payloads up into orbit! 
 

We’re on a mission to bring the incredible benefits of space to everyone from everywhere. Because of the unique design of our air-launched system, we have the ability to transform countries all around the world into space-faring nations. That’s why we were delighted when the Brazilian Space Agency and the Brazilian Air Force announced that we were the top choice among nine proposals to give South America’s largest country something it has never had: the proven ability to launch satellites into orbit.

For our customers, this means a new launch site – on top of Mojave, USA; Guam, USA, Cornwall, UK; and Oita, Japan – to consider when they plan missions. Located less than 200 miles from the equator (just a small step for our flying launch pad, Cosmic Girl), the Alcântara Launch Center is in the perfect spot to serve all orbital inclinations, including highly desirable equatorial orbits.

And for the local community, this means that a promise made by the Brazilian government more than 40 years ago can be fulfilled. Because our fully mobile system is already proven in flight, we offer a pathway to the scientific, social, and economic benefits of space without the need for a costly development program or the need for any expansion beyond the existing facilities. It is vital to us that these local communities share in the upside that’s been too long coming.
 

More than a year after the emergence of Covid-19, it's heartening to see the light at the end of the tunnel as parts of the world begin to reopen. Here in LA, the California Science Center has begun admitting visitors to see its newly unveiled Covid-19 exhibit — and we couldn't be prouder to see our ventilator on display. 

Spurred by requests from the local medical community, this bridge ventilator project was one of our most rewarding activities this past year. With support from expert advisors from the Bridge Ventilator Consortium (BVC), we were able to quickly create our design and deliver a total of 600 units to the state of California.

We also shared the design for free with organizations like Invictus Holdings in South Africa, enabling distribution to particularly vulnerable and underserved communities.

Check out the California Science Center's website to learn more about the exhibit, which is called "All in This Together."