Science News Roundup: Historic UK satellite launch may spur military appetite

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Historic UK satellite launch may spur military appetite

A mobile air-launched rocket system to be used in Britain's first domestic satellite launch could sow the seeds for a globally dispersed rapid-response capability to put extra eyes in space in times of war, executives and analysts said. Virgin Orbit, part-owned by billionaire Richard Branson, plans to launch nine satellites from a LauncherOne rocket attached under the wing of a modified Boeing 747, to be flown from a new spaceport in Cornwall on Monday.

(With inputs from agencies.)