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…

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…

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…

By Brook Zimmatore Imagine some sickness with a 90 percent mortality rate: Doctors would be scrambling for a cure and we certainly wouldn’t be lining up to catch said disease. Yet, even with a 10 percent chance of success, more people are starting their own businesses than ever before. In 2021, 5.4 million applicants filed to…

Space tourism company Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc on Tuesday posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and said its cash position had improved, sending its shares 5 percent higher in extended trading. The company founded by billionaire Richard Branson held about $931 million in cash as of Dec. 31, compared with $679 million a year earlier. The…

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has cleared Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo to fly again following an inquiry into a incident during its July spaceflight, the company announced Wednesday. The FAA announced in August that it was investigating the mishap in which a rocket ship carrying Virgin Group founder Richard Branson and five Virgin Galactic employees veered off course during its…

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—The latest in a recent line of space-obsessed billionaires was set for liftoff on Wednesday with three less wealthy private citizens along for the ride aboard a SpaceX rocket ship, seeking to become the first all-civilian crew launched into Earth orbit. The quartet of amateur space travelers, led by the American founder, and…

Yet another billionaire entrepreneur is set to ride into space this week, strapped inside the capsule of a SpaceX rocketship as part of an astro-tourist team poised to make history as the first all-civilian crew launched into Earth orbit. Jared Isaacman, the American founder and chief executive of e-commerce firm Shift4 Payments, will lead three…

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that Virgin Galactic cannot launch anyone into space again until an investigation is complete into a mishap that occurred during July’s flight with founder Richard Branson. The ban came as Virgin Galactic announced plans to launch three Italian researchers to the edge of space in a few…

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…