The US L3 communications Began the Boeing 747-400 wing modification services that will be used by Virgin Galactic in satellite launch services, LauncherOne.
The plane, a former Virgin Atlantic, is being adapted to be able to carry in the left wing a small rocket to 25,000 kilograms, capable of launching a satellite up to 200 kg in high altitude and polar orbit.
Virgin Galactic recently formalized with the provider oneweb internet, a contract for the launch ode 39 small communications satellites, with an option for another 100 releases.
Boeing 747-400, dubbed Cosmic Girl, after arriving at the premises of L3 communications, Texas, which will be modified for the new mission.
The plane, called Cosmic Girl, was sent in October 2015 to San Antonio in California to meet an extensive program of structural and aerodynamic testing before being approved and transferred to the premises of L3 in Waco, Texas.
The L3 is also responsible for changes in a Boeing 747SP used by NASA and the German space agency DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft) in SOFIA program, which includes a telescope onboard the aircraft.
The first test satellite launch platform is expected to occur in mid-2017 at the premises of Virgin Galactic, in the Mojave Desert in California.
