Waspie_Dwarf Posted March 16, 2023 #1 Share Posted March 16, 2023 Virgin Orbit pauses operations Quote WASHINGTON — Launch vehicle company Virgin Orbit has paused its operations and furloughed its staff for at least a week as it deals with financial issues. In a statement late March 15, the company said it was instituting an “operational pause” across the company, which includes furloughing staff. CNBC first reported on the halt in its operations. Read More: SpaceNews Related story: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted March 22, 2023 Author #2 Share Posted March 22, 2023 Virgin Orbit begins “incremental” return to work as it seeks new funding Quote WASHINGTON — A small set of Virgin Orbit employees will return to work after a week-long furlough as the company attempts to raise money to remain solvent. In a brief filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission early March 22, the company announced an “incremental resumption” of operations effective March 23. Most company employees, though, will remain on furlough until at least March 27. Read More: SpaceNews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted March 30, 2023 Author #3 Share Posted March 30, 2023 Virgin Orbit To Cease Operations, Lay Off 90% After Funding Failure Quote Virgin Orbit has informed its employees that the company will be ceasing operations "for the foreseeable future". During an all-hands meeting on Thursday, CEO Dan Hart informed Virgin Orbit employees that the company will be halting its operations due to the inability to secure a funding lifeline. He shared that they were unable to obtain the necessary funding to establish a clear direction for the company and as a result, around 90% of the workforce will be laid off. Read More: The Launch Pad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Still Waters Posted April 4, 2023 #4 Share Posted April 4, 2023 Virgin Orbit files for bankruptcy, seeks buyer Virgin Orbit, the satellite launch company founded by Richard Branson, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will sell the business, the firm said in a statement Tuesday. On Tuesday, the firm said "it commenced a voluntary proceeding under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code... in order to effectuate a sale of the business" and intended to use the process "to maximize value for its business and assets." https://phys.org/news/2023-04-virgin-orbit-bankruptcy-buyer.html 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted April 5, 2023 Author #5 Share Posted April 5, 2023 Virgin Orbit boss blasts leaders in parting email Quote A senior executive at Virgin Orbit has hit out at the leadership in a farewell email, telling staff at the bankrupt rocket firm they "deserved better". Chief operating officer Tony Gingiss issued a lengthy apology to workers while blasting his fellow managers for apparently failing to say sorry. Virgin Orbit filed for bankruptcy after failing to raise more funding. Read More: BBC News Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted April 11, 2023 Author #6 Share Posted April 11, 2023 Virgin Orbit seeking expedited bankruptcy sale Quote Virgin Orbit is proposing a rapid sale of the company or its assets in bankruptcy, hoping to conclude the process before the end of May. In a motion filed with federal bankruptcy court in Delaware April 7, Virgin Orbit provided a schedule for an “expedited” sale of the launch company through a bidding process that would solicit bids in early May, concluding with an auction on May 18. Read More: SpaceNews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted April 24, 2023 Author #7 Share Posted April 24, 2023 Virgin Orbit completes LauncherOne investigation as Chapter 11 bankruptcy continues Quote Virgin Orbit says it is moving ahead with plans to return its LauncherOne rocket to flight later this year even though there is no certainty the company will emerge from bankruptcy. The company announced April 19 that it completed an investigation into the failure of its previous LauncherOne mission Jan. 9. On that flight, the rocket’s second stage engine shut down prematurely, preventing the stage and its payloads from reaching orbit. Read More: SpaceNews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted May 2, 2023 Author #8 Share Posted May 2, 2023 Court approves plans for Virgin Orbit bankruptcy sale Quote A federal bankruptcy court has approved plans to conduct a sale of Virgin Orbit’s assets this month that could result in either new ownership for the launch provider or its dissolution. During a May 1 hearing, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved an order setting up bidding procedures for the sale of the company’s assets. Virgin Orbit had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with the court April 4. Read More: SpaceNews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted May 12, 2023 Author #9 Share Posted May 12, 2023 Company Update: Virgin Orbit Receives More Than 30 Indications of Interest Under Court Approved Bid Procedures Quote LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Virgin Orbit Holdings, Inc. (the “Company” or “Virgin Orbit”), a responsive space launch provider, has announced today an update regarding the process for sale of the Company. Pursuant to court-approved bid procedures, as of May 4, 2023 the Company had received over 30 indications of interest including multiple parties that proposed to continue to operate the business as a going concern and retain current employees in an integrated enterprise. A bid deadline for final binding offers is set for later this month. Read More: Virgin Orbit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted May 18, 2023 Author #10 Share Posted May 18, 2023 U.K. government won’t buy Virgin Orbit Quote The British government, which helped buy OneWeb out of bankruptcy three years ago, has no plans to do the same with launch company Virgin Orbit, a government minister said May 17. George Freeman, minister for science, innovation and technology in the U.K. government, told a Parliament committee that the government had “taken a close interest” in Virgin Orbit, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States April 4, but had no plans to acquire the company. Read More: SpaceNews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenemet Posted May 18, 2023 #11 Share Posted May 18, 2023 This saga is one reason why I think it's better for space exploration to be funded by governments. We lose too much when private businesses go bankrupt. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hammerclaw Posted May 18, 2023 #12 Share Posted May 18, 2023 Commercial Space is a dog-eat-dog business. The two Virgin companies have been standing jokes in the States for quite some time. Companies like Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin start out promising the moon and then can't even reach orbit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted May 18, 2023 Author #13 Share Posted May 18, 2023 52 minutes ago, Kenemet said: This saga is one reason why I think it's better for space exploration to be funded by governments. We lose too much when private businesses go bankrupt. Space Exploration IS funded by governments. Virgin Orbit is a commercial launch company, not a space exploration company. As for Virgin Orbit, what exactly has been lost outside of the company itself? It is in the highly competitive small satellite launching business. The same market that includes Rocket Lab, Astra, Firefly, PLD, Orbex, Gilmore Space Technologies, Spin Launch, Skyroot... and probably a few more that I can't think of. There are more companies racing to launch small satellites than the market can currently sustain. Virgin Orbit will not be the last to fail, but with so many companies capable of filling the gap (Rocket Lab, Astra and Firefly have all reached orbit) then there is no lose in launch capability. Just as when an airline goes bust there is inconvenience for that airlines passengers but people continue to be able to fly to their destinations. This is the new reality for spaceflight. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted May 18, 2023 Author #14 Share Posted May 18, 2023 8 minutes ago, Hammerclaw said: Companies like Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin start out promising the moon and then can't even reach orbit. Virgin Galactic has never promised the moon OR Earth orbit. It is strictly a suborbital venture. It is a totally different company from Virgin Orbit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hammerclaw Posted May 18, 2023 #15 Share Posted May 18, 2023 3 minutes ago, Waspie_Dwarf said: Virgin Galactic has never promised the moon OR Earth orbit. It is strictly a suborbital venture. It is a totally different company from Virgin Orbit. All under the same umbrella. Our Companies | Virgin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted May 18, 2023 Author #16 Share Posted May 18, 2023 3 minutes ago, Hammerclaw said: All under the same umbrella. Our Companies | Virgin Tesla, Twitter and SpaceX are all owned by Elon Musk, do you struggle to tell them apart too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hammerclaw Posted May 18, 2023 #17 Share Posted May 18, 2023 Just now, Waspie_Dwarf said: Tesla, Twitter and SpaceX are all owned by Elon Musk, do you struggle to tell them apart too? Do you own stock in Virgin companies, or are you a personal friend of one or more owners? One space company has gone bankrupt and the other flirting with insolvency while peddling glorified circus rides, yet you're always riding to their defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted May 18, 2023 Author #18 Share Posted May 18, 2023 6 minutes ago, Hammerclaw said: Do you own stock in Virgin companies, or are you a personal friend of one or more owners? One space company has gone bankrupt and the other flirting with insolvency while peddling glorified circus rides, yet you're always riding to their defense. I don't own shares in them ,nor am I defending them, I am simply pointing out that your knowledge is so laughably limited on the subjectt that you can't distinguish between Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hammerclaw Posted May 18, 2023 #19 Share Posted May 18, 2023 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Waspie_Dwarf said: I don't own shares in them ,nor am I defending them, I am simply pointing out that your knowledge is so laughably limited on the subjectt that you can't distinguish between Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit. That's not true and you obviously have a very strong bias in favor of Virgin Orbit and Virgin Galactic and I have the same information resources at my fingertips that you have. So please, stop trolling me. SPCE | Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. Stock Price & News - WSJ Edited May 18, 2023 by Hammerclaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenemet Posted May 18, 2023 #20 Share Posted May 18, 2023 7 hours ago, Waspie_Dwarf said: Space Exploration IS funded by governments. Virgin Orbit is a commercial launch company, not a space exploration company. As for Virgin Orbit, what exactly has been lost outside of the company itself? It is in the highly competitive small satellite launching business. The same market that includes Rocket Lab, Astra, Firefly, PLD, Orbex, Gilmore Space Technologies, Spin Launch, Skyroot... and probably a few more that I can't think of. There are more companies racing to launch small satellites than the market can currently sustain. Virgin Orbit will not be the last to fail, but with so many companies capable of filling the gap (Rocket Lab, Astra and Firefly have all reached orbit) then there is no lose in launch capability. Just as when an airline goes bust there is inconvenience for that airlines passengers but people continue to be able to fly to their destinations. This is the new reality for spaceflight. Ah. Thank you for the correction. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted May 23, 2023 Author #21 Share Posted May 23, 2023 On 5/18/2023 at 5:25 PM, Hammerclaw said: That's not true and you obviously have a very strong bias in favor of Virgin Orbit and Virgin Galactic and I have the same information resources at my fingertips that you have. So please, stop trolling me. SPCE | Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. Stock Price & News - WSJ Fact: Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit are separate companies and no amount of goal post moving and disingenuous and outright dishonest posting will change that fact. Fact: Virgin Galactic is not in the orbital launch market and no amount of goal post moving and disingenuous and outright dishonest posting will change that fact.. Fact: I don't have shares in ether Virgin company. Fact: I have not posted anything defending either company, I have simply pointed out that you are posting incorrect information. Fact: correcting false information is not trolling. A reminder of what you said: On 5/18/2023 at 4:48 PM, Hammerclaw said: Companies like Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin start out promising the moon and then can't even reach orbit. A reminder of what I said: On 5/18/2023 at 4:58 PM, Waspie_Dwarf said: Virgin Galactic has never promised the moon OR Earth orbit. It is strictly a suborbital venture. It is a totally different company from Virgin Orbit. No defence of either Virgin company, simply a correction of your false claim. Fact: If you don't like people pointing out that your posts are factually incorrect then I suggest you stop making factually incorrect posts. Question: If you have the resources to hand how is it that you can't correctly distinguish between the two companies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted May 23, 2023 Author #22 Share Posted May 23, 2023 Three companies to buy most Virgin Orbit assets Quote Three aerospace companies submitted winning bids at a bankruptcy auction for most of the assets of launch company Virgin Orbit, ending any chance that company could return to flight under new ownership. In a May 23 filing with federal bankruptcy court in Delaware, Virgin Orbit announced that Rocket Lab, Stratolaunch, and Vast made the winning bids for separate segments of the company’s assets, including manufacturing facilities and its Boeing 747 aircraft. Read More: SpaceNews 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted May 25, 2023 Author #23 Share Posted May 25, 2023 No one should be surprised Virgin Orbit failed—it had a terrible business plan The business case simply did not close. Quote It's now official—the launch company Virgin Orbit is being sold for parts. In a new filing as part of the bankruptcy process, Rocket Lab purchased the company's main production facility in Long Beach, California, to support its Neutron rocket. Stratolaunch bought Virgin Orbit’s Boeing 747 aircraft and related equipment. And Launcher acquired the company's lease on a test site in Mojave. That's it. After six years, Virgin Orbit is done, and its LauncherOne will fly no more. The purpose of this article is not to criticize the company's technology or employees. In truth, the engineering teams did a magnificent job of getting a liquid-fueled rocket to drop from a 747 aircraft, ignite its engine, and reach space. Read More: Ars Technica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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