Virgin's Orbit Girl 747 takes off with the LauncherOne rocket fully loaded for a dress rehearsal test flight Sunday, April 12, 2020. LOS ANGELES - Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit reached space on Sunday, eight months after the first demonstration flight of its air-launched rocket system failed, the company said.A 70-foot-long LauncherOne rocket was released from beneath the wing of a Boeing 747 carrier aircraft off the coast of Southern California, ignited moments later and soared toward space.This Sunday, April 12, 2020 photo provided by Virgin Orbit shows a Boeing 747 with a rocket slung beneath its port wing in its final major test before an upcoming demonstration of its system in which the rocket will be carried aloft and launched.