Virgin Orbit, owned by billionaire Richard Branson, has begun a week-long “operational hiatus” to seek new investors and ease financial pressures, which have mounted after the failed launch in the UK. More than half of the employees involved in the project have also been laid off, according to CNBC.
- A Virgin Orbit spokesperson confirmed the information to CNBC;
- Sources who declined to be identified told the portal that the employees’ leave will not be paid for;
- Only a small group will continue to work;
- The company promised to provide an update on licensing and financing by next Thursday (23).
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What happened?
Earlier this year, Virgin Orbit made its first orbital launch from the UK – and the first commercial mission to take off from Western Europe. The Boeing 747 departed carrying a LaucherOne missile docked under one of its wings. At first, the first stage to enter orbit went well, until an anomaly prevented the missile from continuing.
The plane crashed, according to CNBC, in the ocean. His return to Earth was filmed by an observer in the Canary Islands, a Spanish territory off the coast of Africa.
The plane carried nine satellites that would perform both civil and military functions: an in-orbit manufacturing experiment conducted by the British company Space Forge.
Virgin Orbit and the UK Space Agency (UKSA) have opened an investigation to find out what happened. In February, the company confirmed that the malfunction was due to a fuel filter that had “fouled out of its normal position”.
However, in the big picture, after the failure of the mission, Virgin Orbit has seen its shares decline since 2021. It reported a loss of $49.2 million in its most recent fiscal quarter. Despite this, the company has already indicated that it will continue its projects in an improved manner.
“Our investigation is almost complete, and our next production rocket with the necessary modification built in is in the final stages of integration and testing,” a Virgin Orbit spokesperson said last month.
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