#satelites

The technology to launch an orbiter from the sky, rather than the ground, already exists. The Pegasus rocket launcher, for example, has performed over 40 aerial launches: A carrier aircraft flies the rocket up, and then fires it off — satellite included — into the stratosphere. But to refine that system, then strip it of human personnel, is a tall order — the launching system would need to be entirely self-sufficient. Indeed, Darpa notes that ALASA is looking for a launcher requiring “no recurring maintenance or support, and no specific integration to prepare for launch.”