“There is now not a moment to lose” if the UK is to realise the full potential of its space launch sector, a Parliamentary committee has warned. In a report published by the House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee on Friday, a cross-party group of MPs criticised the UK’s “disjointed approach” to space…

Richard Branson’s rocket company Virgin Orbit will cease operations after its failed rocket launch out of the United Kingdom, officials announced. The company said in a May 23 statement that it will sell its assets and equipment to four winning bidders in a “comprehensive sale process and competitive auction” and cease operations. The announcement comes just…

Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries in the United States filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Earlier this month, Virgin Orbit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after the satellite launch company struggled to…

As the fortunes of Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit were crashing to Earth last month, a little-known investor called Matthew Brown appeared offering a $200 million rescue. Within two days of being contacted by Brown, Virgin Orbit Chief Executive Dan Hart had secured board backing for a preliminary agreement with the 33-year-old Texas-based investor, according to…

Virgin Orbit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after failing to get additional funding from its backers. The Long Beach, California-based satellite launch company, founded and owned by Richard Branson, failed to secure long-term funding it needed to recover from a January rocket failure in the United Kingdom. Branson had long had an ambition to become…

Billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit could soon be launching satellites from a small regional airport in Queensland after signing off a deal to develop its third location globally. Founded in 2017, the company deploys Boeing 747s to carry rockets into the upper reaches of the atmosphere before firing them into space. The New York-listed Virgin…

LOS ANGELES—A Virgin Orbit rocket released from a jet flying off the California coast carried seven small satellites into space on Thursday as the company kicked off a year in which it plans to ramp up the pace of launches, including two originating from Britain. Virgin Orbit’s modified Boeing 747 took off from Mojave Air…

Virgin Orbit inked a new launch contract covering two dedicated launches for Arqit Quantum, Inc., a quantum encryption technology provider. Financial terms were not disclosed. Virgin Orbit is a responsive launch and space solutions company that declared a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger with NextGen Acquisition Corp II. The two Arqit satellites delivered to Earth orbit by Virgin…

Billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit, a small satellite launch service provider, is going public through a merger with a blank-check vehicle that values it at about $3.2 billion. The deal with NextGen Acquisition Corp. II, announced on Monday, includes $100 million in funding from Boeing Co, AE Industrial Partners, and others in the form of…