2023-05-24 03:55:32
Virgin Orbit, the satellite launcher founded by Richard Branson, announced on Tuesday that it is selling its assets and will cease operations.
The announcement comes about two months after the company filed for bankruptcy and laid off about 85% of its staff.
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History of Virgin Orbit
- Founded in 2017, the company has become a symbol of the growing commercial space industry and has promised to revolutionize access to space by launching small, inexpensive satellites from a rocket strapped to the wing of a Boeing 747;
- This configuration allowed it to be launched anywhere with a large enough runway, a feature that attracted the attention of the Pentagon and others looking to get satellites into orbit quickly;
- The company went public through a special acquisition company, or SPAC;
- It did so because the investment vehicle was falling out of favor with investors, and the company was unable to raise the $382 million (R$1.8 billion) it had forecast.
Sister company to Virgin Galactic, Branson’s space tourism company, Virgin Orbit went public through special acquisition company, or SPAC.
While its LauncherOne rocket successfully reached orbit for the first time in 2021, it flew infrequently and suffered launch failure during the UK’s attempt earlier this year.
Despite this setback and the depletion of investment capital, the company continued to grow and spend rapidly, hiring many dozens of employees in an attempt to move quickly and increase its launch rate.
In the third quarter of 2022, the most recent for which detailed financial information is available, Virgin Orbit reported a net loss of US$43.6 million (R$216.5 million) and revenue of US$30.9 million (R$ $153.4 million).
In an interview with The Washington Post last month, Virgin Orbit chief executive Dan Hart said some major financial and operational mistakes had caused the company to spend hundreds of millions of dollars, producing just a few successful launches.
At the end of the day, as CEO, these are my choices and I think about it a lot. I could have made different choices along the way. I mean, innovation is a messy business, and you make choices and pull off the parking lot every day. And you ask yourself, ‘Did I throw the ball forward? Or do we go backwards today?’
Dan Hart, Chief Executive of Virgin Orbit
He then said the company had hoped to launch one more time and entice a buyer to take over – but that didn’t happen.
Virgin Orbit said in a statement that it would sell its assets to three commercial space companies:
- Rocket Lab;
- Stratolaunch;
- Launcher, subsidiary of Vast Space.
In the same statement, the company said that “its innovative technologies, relentless pursuit of excellence and unwavering commitment to advancing the frontiers of airdrop have left an indelible mark on the industry.”
With information from The Washington Post
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