Air-launch-to-orbit (ALTO) is the method of launching smaller rockets at altitude from a heavier conventional horizontal-takeoff aircraft, to carry satellites...

Pegasus (rocket) Air launch to orbit Airborne aircraft carrier Rocket sled launch Megascale engineering SpaceShipOne SpaceShipTwo LauncherOne List of Virgin...

Non-rocket spacelaunch refers to theoretical concepts for launch into space where much of the speed and altitude needed to achieve orbit is provided by a propulsion...

vehicle, air-launched from a Boeing 747 carrier aircraft, designed to deliver 300 kg of payload to low Earth orbit. On December 30, 2021, Virgin Orbit underwent...

and technologies, which contribute to high operating costs. An orbital launch vehicle must lift its payload at least to the boundary of space, approximately...

unpowered gliders. Four examples of spaceplanes have successfully launched to orbit, reentered Earth's atmosphere, and landed: the U.S. Space Shuttle...

Composites for Stratolaunch Systems to carry air-launch-to-orbit (ALTO) rockets, and subsequently repurposed to offer air launch hypersonic flight testing after...

Galactic in 2015 to be used as the first stage launch platform (or mothership launch pad) for the air launch stage of the smallsat orbital launch vehicle, the...

the US Air Force and the FAA. To remain in orbit at this altitude requires an orbital speed of ~7.8 km/s. Orbital speed is slower for higher orbits, but...

Composites for Stratolaunch Systems to carry air-launch-to-orbit (ALTO) rockets, and subsequently repurposed to offer air launch hypersonic flight testing after...

to 2020. It was an air-launched rocket, designed to carry smallsat payloads of up to 300 kg (660 lb) into Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), following air launch...

not exclusively refers to reusable vehicles. To date, no Earth-launched SSTO launch vehicles have ever been flown; orbital launches from Earth have been...

rather than rear. DARPA plans to develop a second, smaller launch system called the Small Air Launch Vehicle to Orbit (SALVO) to understand operations cost...

require a suborbital launch vehicle to reach its lower end, while a space elevator would not. Different synchronous non-rotating orbiting skyhook concepts...

Earth orbit. NASA's concept aims to create a platform that can launch 15 times the mass of the glider, compared to 0.7 times for other air-launch reusable...

capability to launch small space satellites into low Earth orbit using an air-launch-to-orbit type system. The airfield was opened in 1933 as a civilian...

Pegasus is an air-launched multistage rocket developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) and later built and launched by Northrop Grumman. Pegasus...

designed to launch spacecraft of various purposes into circular, elliptical and high-circle orbits, including geostationary orbit. It was planned to be an...

List of orbits Molniya orbit Tundra orbit Vandenberg Air Force Base, a major United States launch location for polar orbits "ESA - Types of Orbits". 2020-03-30...

on July 21. Orbital flights were launched by derivatives of the Air Force's larger Atlas D missile from LC-14. The first American in orbit was John Glenn...

second to fifth stages, was used for ground-launched atmospheric tests from China Lake, and the Pilot-2, an air-launched version, was used for orbital launch...

was an intended single-stage-to-orbit vehicle due to its lightweight fuel tanks and was originally planned for a 2018 launch. Data from General characteristics...

stakes claim to European smallsat launch market". SpaceNews. July 18, 2018. "Outerstellar Space". Retrieved 2023-08-10. "Orbital ATK". www.orbital.com. Retrieved...

comparison of orbital launch systems lists the attributes of all current and future individual rocket configurations designed to reach orbit. A first list...

all other orbital launches conducted by the US military, and no attempts to launch the vehicle into orbit were made. Caleb was an air-launched rocket, with...

March 2022. "Air Force awards US$739 million in launch contracts to ULA and SpaceX". SpaceNews. 19 February 2019. "Table 10-1: NROL-85 Orbit Injection Target...

Orbital Sciences Corporation (commonly referred to as Orbital) was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and...

the launch vehicle needs to carry to reach orbit. This allows the launch vehicle to carry a larger payload and reduces the cost of getting to orbit. When...

factor and speed a lesser one. At lower altitudes, due to the high speed required to remain in orbit, air friction is an important consideration affecting satellites...

This article lists orbital and suborbital launches during the second quarter of the year 2025. For all other spaceflight activities, see 2025 in spaceflight...