 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| OTC Pink: VORBQ | |
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Predecessor | Virgin Galactic |
| Founded | March 2, 2017 |
| Defunct | May 22, 2023 |
| Fate | Chapter 11 bankruptcy |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Dan Hart[1] (President and CEO) Brita O'rear (CFO) |
| Products | LauncherOne |
| Services | Orbital rocket launch |
| Total equity |
|
| Owners | |
Number of employees | 100 (2023) |
| Website | virginorbit |
Virgin Orbit was a company within the Virgin Group that provided launch services for small satellites. The company was formed in 2017 as a spin-off of Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourism venture to develop and market the LauncherOne rocket, which had previously been a project under Virgin Galactic. LauncherOne was a two-stage launch vehicle, air-launched from a Boeing 747 carrier aircraft, designed to deliver 300 kg of payload to low Earth orbit.[2]
On December 30, 2021, Virgin Orbit underwent a SPAC merger with NextGen Acquisition Corp, and became a publicly traded company (symbol VORB) at the NASDAQ stock exchange.[3] Upon listing Virgin Orbit was valued at $3.7 billion.[4]
LauncherOne made six flights from 2020 to 2023, resulting in four successes and two failures. After the second failure in January 2023 and amid an inability to secure additional financing,[5] the company laid off staff and suspended operations in March 2023, finalizing Chapter 11 bankruptcy auction on May 22, 2023.[6][7] Remaining assets were divested for $36 million, less than 1% of the company's valuation upon IPO.[8]
- ^ Fernholz, Tim (June 13, 2017). "Virgin Orbit's newly-minted CEO will use psychology to launch satellites faster than anyone else". Quartz. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
- ^ Irene Klotz (March 2, 2017). "Virgin Galactic Unveils Spin-Off Virgin Orbit for Small-Satellite Launches". Space.com.
- ^ "Virgin Orbit lands in Times Square NYC to ring NASDAQ bell". Space.com. January 7, 2022.
- ^ "Branson's Virgin Orbit to go public through a SPAC at $3.7 billion valuation". CNBC. August 23, 2021.
- ^ Will, Luke (January 10, 2023). "Virgin Orbit's Launcher One Fails to Reach Orbit". Travel Radar. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ Roulette, Joey (April 4, 2023). "Branson's Virgin Orbit files for bankruptcy". Reuters. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
- ^ Race, Michael (April 4, 2023). "Virgin Orbit: Richard Branson's rocket firm files for bankruptcy". BBC News. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
- ^ Sheetz, Michael (May 23, 2023). "Virgin Orbit sells assets in bankruptcy auction to Rocket Lab, Stratolaunch and Vast's Launcher". CNBC. Retrieved May 23, 2023.