Virgin Orbit Above the Clouds launch
On its third operational mission, Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne placed seven cubesats into a 500-kilometer orbit at an inclination of 45 degrees. Credit: Virgin Orbit

ORLANDO, Fla. — Virgin Orbit placed seven cubesats for three customers into orbit Jan. 13 on the third consecutive successful operational flight of its LauncherOne air-launch system.

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Jeff Foust writes about space policy, commercial space, and related topics for SpaceNews. He earned a Ph.D. in planetary sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree with honors in geophysics and planetary science...