Branson’s Long Beach-based Virgin Orbit cuts short its test of rocket launch from 747

Officials from billionaire mogul Richard Branson’s Long Beach-based Virgin Orbit said a crucial test of its two-stage, orbital rocket system — designed to rival that of Elon Musk’s SpaceX for satellite launches — ended its mission shortly after the rocket was released from a Boeing Co. 747.
The plane, named Cosmic Girl, took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California on Monday, May 25, at 11:56 a.m. Pacific Time, carrying beneath it Virgin Orbit’s Launcher