How to launch a rocket from a plane

Virgin Orbit / Greg Robinson

In January, the firm Virgin Orbit successfully launched a rocket from a plane. The LauncherOne rocket carried 10 of NASA's satellites and was brought 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) into the atmosphere by a modified Boeing 747. The article I used is called "Virgin Orbit launched a rocket from a plane -- here's how" by Simon Lindsay, a Researcher in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester. It describes how this was done -- clearly and concisely in the first 3 paragraphs -- and explains why this was an important development for space travel.

Link to the article: https://theconversation.com/virgin-orbit-launched-a-rocket-from-a-plane-heres-how-154207

The explanation of how this was accomplished is an excellent example of a process description, which my students have to learn how to do in both writing and speaking. In addition, there are examples of making this explanation clear to a non-technical audience - and this is something I find useful to bring to students' attention so that they use it in their own explanations. For example:

• Earlier this month, ten cubesats -- small, cheap satellites weighing about a kilogram each -- were sent into orbit around Earth.
• With almost 1,500 of these small satellites launched so far, adding another ten might seem trivial. But this was no ordinary launch.
• But how does launching a rocket from a plane actually work?
• Usually, a rocket launched from a launch site on the ground will have two or three stages, which allow the rocket to shed weight as it uses up fuel.
• ... the payload -- the part we want to get into space -- ...
• ... but most of the fuel requirement to achieve orbit is not in gaining height, but getting it moving with enough speed so that it falls into orbit.
• For small satellites, cubesats, micro-satellites and nano-satellites -- all of which are being rapidly adopted by the space industry -- air launches could represent ...
• The idea of air launching has been around for some time.
• ... which may be able to place smaller satellites -- 50 kg or so -- into much more distant orbits ...

In describing both the process and the advantages of this process, there is a variety of adverbs used, which combine to form useful collocations. My students either do not use many adverbs or they confuse their use with adjectives. But in the article, adverbs are used to be more precise, which is also something students should use in their own writing. Some examples:

• actually work
• typically places (the noun)
• repeatedly delayed
• can simply be flown
• can easily be accommodated
• a relatively small (noun)
• being rapidly adopted by
• an improvement in versatility and, crucially, cost
• aims to fully combine (noun and noun)
• an increasingly competitive market
• relatively low cost

The next feature I highlight for my students is the use of "referents" -- words or phrases that refer to something already mentioned. In their writing, my students often keep repeating the same word, which produces an inelegant, repetitive text. I ask students to identify what a specific term refers to -- either in the same sentence or in a previous sentence -- so they can see how this can be done. In this article, there are many uses of "its," which helps students see how this word is used and (hopefully) how not to confuse it with "it's" (of which there is only 1 in the text). Some examples:

What does (italicized term) refer to in the following sentences:

• The plane carried them to a height of 11km ...
• This was the first successful launch of Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket, marking the start of its commercial ventures. The company hopes to ...
• A third stage operatres on the same principle and ...
• Air-launching takes advantage of this by attaching a rocket to an aircraft and releasing it ...
• Stratolaunch, the developers of the enormous carrier aircraft of the same name able to carry a rocket weighing 250 tons, abandoned its heavy-lift launch vehicle program in 2019.
• While the flight speed of an aircraft can make a small contribution to this requirement, the fuel saving from air launch is not as large as it might first appear.
• The Pegasus launch service is still operational, and has completed 30 successful flights, but its launches are expensive ...

While I like to focus on the useful language features of this article, my students are interested in the topic and the possibilities for the future.