Cosmic Girl (airplane)

Cosmic Girl
Arriving on flight VS020/V from San Francisco to London Heathrow on 2013 October 5
Cosmic Girl with Virgin Atlantic livery as G-VWOW in 2013
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]
Owners and operators  :
In service  :
  • 2001 – October 2015 (Virgin Atlantic) [5]
  • November 2015 onwards (Virgin Galactic)[4]
Status Airworthy, undergoing inspections and modifications for use as a launch platform for LauncherOne launch vehicles.
Aircraft carried LauncherOne orbital rocket

Cosmic Girl is a Virgin Galactic owned Boeing 747-41R which is intended to be used as the first stage launch platform, (or mothership), for the air launch of smallsat orbital launch vehicle LauncherOne, planned for first launch in 2017.

History

Cosmic Girl was built in 2001 by Boeing as a 44/32/310 B747-41R (c/n. 32745) and delivered to Virgin Atlantic registered as G-VWOW.[1][2][3]

On 3 November 2005, on approach to Runway 27R at Heathrow Airport, a crosswind caused a roll leftwards of the airplane while touching down, leading to a groundstrike by engine No.1 (leftmost engine).[6]

The jetliner was in-service with the airline until October 2015. The airliner, previously leased from Boeing by Virgin Atlantic, was purchased from Boeing outright by Virgin Group for Virgin Galactic, and registered as N744VG, in November 2015.[4][5] A 747 was selected due to its carrying capacity. The acquisition of the 747 allowed dedicated carrying aircraft for both SpaceShipTwo and LauncherOne.[7]

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). However, 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][5] The use of a larger airplane allows doubling of LauncherOne payload capacity to 200 kg (440 lb), though with the selection of a 747, ultimately, 400 kg (880 lb) may be supported.[8] 747s have previously been used to air launch other craft, including the Space Shuttle Enterprise.[9] The use of Cosmic Girl marks the first use of a 747 as a space launch platform.[10]

LauncherOne operations

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.[5] LauncherOne would be dropped from Cosmic Girl at a height of 35,000 ft (11,000 m).[11] The maximum payload limit for LauncherOne operations on CosmicGirl is 400 kg (880 lb).[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Virgin Atlantic fleet of aircraft" (PDF). Virgin Atlantic. Retrieved November 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "N744VG Virgin Galactic Boeing 747-41R – cn 32745 / 1287". PlaneSpotters.net. Retrieved December 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Boeing 747 – MSN 32745 – G-VWOW". AirFleets.net. Retrieved December 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Chris Gebhardt and Nate Moeller (4 December 2015). "Virgin Galactic unveils Cosmic Girl, dedicated LauncherOne aircraft". NASAspaceflight.com.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Jeff Foust (4 December 2015). "Virgin Galactic Acquires Boeing 747 for LauncherOne Missions". SpaceNews.
  6. ↑ "Boeing 747-41R, G-VWOW, 3 November 2005". Air Accidents Investigation Branch report. UK Government. Retrieved December 2015.
  7. ↑ Virgin Galactic (7 December 2015). "Virgin Galactic - An Introduction to LauncherOne’s Carrier Aircraft Cosmic Girl".
  8. ↑ Andrew Trotman (4 December 2015). "Richard Branson to launch rockets into space using Boeing 747". The Telegraph (London).
  9. ↑ Brian Mastroianni (4 December 2015). "Virgin Galactic plans to launch satellites from jumbo jet". CBS News.
  10. ↑ Virgin Galactic (4 December 2015). "Welcoming Cosmic Girl - Highlights".
  11. ↑ Christian Davenport (3 December 2015). "Richard Branson unveils his rocket’s new "mothership," a 747 he calls "Cosmic Girl."". Washington Post.
  12. ↑ Matt Payton (4 December 2015). "Virgin to adapt a Boeing 747 into a flying launchpad for their Galactic spaceship". Metro.co.uk.

See also

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