Virgin Orbit sadly failed to deliver commercial space travel
- Virgin Orbit attempted six launches, four of which were successful
- In 2021, Virgin Orbit went public, and it was valued at $3.7 billion
- In 2023, it went bankrupt
Published on Jun 21, 2024 at 11:34 AM (UTC-4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Jun 22, 2024 at 9:14 AM (UTC-4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Virgin is a billionaire-run company that wanted to take the mega-rich into orbit – but Virgin Orbit wanted to take that quest commercial.
But a while back, Virgin tried to branch out into the commercial space sector with Virgin Orbit.
It didn’t go well, and Virgin Orbit never came close to rivaling SpaceX.
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The company remained operational for about six years, during which time it managed to successfully complete four launches, with two failures.
In order to complete these launches, it even acquired a modified Boeing 747-400, nicknamed ‘Cosmic Girl’, which was used to launch the rocket.
At one point, in 2021, the company even went public with a Special Acquisition Purpose Company (SPAC) merger.
At its peak, it was valued at $3.7 billion, but when the company filed for bankruptcy in 2023, its remaining assets were sold for ‘just’ $36 million.
Virgin Orbit wanted to rival SpaceX
In a way, Virgin wanted to compete in the same domain as Blue Origin and SpaceX.
After all, just like Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos) and SpaceX (Elon Musk), Virgin is a private company owned by an eccentric billionaire, Richard Branson.
Virgin has several subsidiaries.
With Virgin Galactic, for example, the idea is to send billionaires into space, for fun.
But Virgin Orbit was different, the goal was to deliver payload to Earth’s low orbit.
In other words, the goal was to take space travel one step further, with missions that could benefit the ‘space race’, rather than just providing Instagram-friendly moments to billionaires
What went wrong?
In short, after flying four tourists to space, the company ran out of money.
Went the company went public with a SPAC, Virgin said it had about $300 million in active contracts and expected its rocket launch business to grow to about 18 launches by the end of 2023.
But that never happened.
LauncherOne, the main rocket Virgin Orbit used, failed to orbit in January 2023, which ended up the first and only launch attempt that year.
Just a few months later, the aerospace company ceased operations.
Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
