---
title: "Virgin Just Dropped a Massive Rocket from a Gutted Jumbo Jet"
description: "Virgin Orbit just dropped a rocket that was strapped beneath a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet. The system could greatly reduce satellite launch costs."
date: "2019-07-10"
modified: "2019-07-10"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/virgin-orbit-dropped-rocket-jumbo-jet"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "boeing"
  - "satellite launch"
  - "the digest"
  - "virgin"
  - "virgin galactic"
---

# Virgin Just Dropped a Massive Rocket from a Gutted Jumbo Jet

![Virgin Orbit just dropped a rocket that was strapped beneath a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet. The system could greatly reduce satellite launch costs.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/virgin-orbit-dropped-rocket-jumbo-jet.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Virgin Orbit\</em\>*

## LauncherOne

Virgin Orbit — Virgin's satellite launch subsidiary and Virgin Galactic spinoff — just dropped a 70-foot rocket from a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet at 35,000 feet.

The rocket plummeted down to Earth, as intended by the company, in the final major test for Virgin Orbit's satellite launch system LauncherOne. The idea is to bring down the cost of launching satellites by flying them to high altitudes first, greatly reducing rocket fuel requirements.

In fact, Virgin Orbit has promised to bring down the cost of launching a satellite as part of its LauncherOne system to "about $12 million" according to Richard Dalbello, vice president of business development for Virgin Galactic, [who spoke](<https://spacenews.com/virgin-orbit-plans-2018-first-launch/>) at a panel discussion in 2017.

## Satellite Launch for Cheap

Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart [told *CNBC*](<https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/10/virgin-orbit-key-rocket-drop-test-from-boeing-747-above-california.html>) that the company’s first official launch "hopefully will be before the end of the summer."

Virgin Orbit isn't the first company consider launching rockets from mid-air. The idea has been around since at least 1990, when aerospace outfit Northrop Grumman launched rockets from a Lockheed Martin aircraft. Launches, however, were [far more expensive](<https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/10/virgin-orbit-key-rocket-drop-test-from-boeing-747-above-california.html>).

**READ MORE:** [Virgin Orbit Just Dropped a Rocket From a Boeing 747](<https://www.wired.com/story/virgin-orbit-just-dropped-a-rocket-from-a-boeing-747/>) \[*Wired*\]

**More on Virgin Galactic:** *[Virgin Galactic's Space Plane Soars to New Heights](<https://futurism.com/virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-vss-unity-fifth-test-flight>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)