Virgin Orbit to cease operations, sell assets of Richard Branson's satellite launcher:
Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit is shutting down less than two months after the satellite launch start-up filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to a Tuesday company announcement.
Virgin Orbit will cease operations and sell its assets to four winning bidders, the company announced Tuesday. Those bidders include three aerospace companies—Rocket Lab, Stratolaunch and Vast Space subsidiary Launcher—with combined bids totaling almost $36 million, according to court documents.
A sale hearing for court approval is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon and transactions are expected to close soon after, the company said.
"Virgin Orbit's legacy in the space industry will forever be remembered," Virgin Orbit said in a Tuesday statement. "Its groundbreaking technologies, relentless pursuit of excellence, and unwavering commitment to advancing the frontiers of air launch have left an indelible mark on the industry."
[...] Virgin Orbit was founded in 2017 by Branson, a British billionaire, in hopes of targeting the market for launching small satellites into space. Its LauncherOne rockets were launched from the air from modified Virgin passenger planes, allowing the company to operate more flexibly than using fixed launch sites.
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Friday May 26 2023, @08:41AM (2 children)
Branson is not very bright. He tried and has failed to keep up with Musk, his friend and role model.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Friday May 26 2023, @10:51AM
Branson will try anything if he thinks he might be able to make a profit.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Saturday May 27 2023, @10:27AM
Branson fails at pretty much everything other than convincing the UK population that he's a genius.
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Friday May 26 2023, @12:06PM (3 children)
Yeah... So groundbreaking, so excellent and so committed to advancing frontiers that the company folded. One wonders what could possibly have gone wrong with this level of greatness.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday May 26 2023, @02:39PM
Did they ever manage to put even one single milligram into orbit before folding?
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by corey on Saturday May 27 2023, @12:20AM (1 child)
That quote is coming from themselves, so it’s definitely biased.
But I think, at least they were trying something different rather than just rockets filled with explosive. There are benefits to using air breathing vehicles to get to high altitudes then using rockets the rest of the way.
Maybe what they were referring to is the technical work they did, that it was groundbreaking. Yeah business wise it failed.
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Sunday May 28 2023, @03:19AM
You've got to look at it in terms of delta V.
Mach 1 is about 3% of what you need to get to orbit. Lifting to 40km is less than 1km/s. Both of those are higher than what most air-breathing first stages achieve. You are adding an entire complex extra stage to the vehicle, and it gets you less than 10% of the way.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.