Top Pentagon procurement official Ellen Lord during a recent trip to California made a stop at Vox Space in El Segundo. A subsidiary of Virgin Orbit, the company sees the Defense Department as a major customer for its air-launched rockets to send satellites into orbit. Lord was briefed on the company's LauncherOne aircraft that carries small rockets. The vehicle is scheduled to launch an experimental military payload to low Earth orbit later this year. Lord's was one of several high-level visits that the company has organized with Pentagon officials over the past year, hoping to get clarity on DoD plans to procure space services from commercial companies.
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