To outsiders, it may seem obvious to link that humbling mechanical failure to the firm suddenly collapsing. After furloughing staff in mid-March while seeking new investment, Virgin Orbit culled 675 employees last week – 85 per cent of its workforce – and has now filed for bankruptcy.– which had already successfully completed four launches in the US. The Cornwall embarrassment, they say, was largely down to misfortune.
They argue the company’s implosion is a “cautionary tale” that may set alarm bells ringing at Virgin Galactic, could be hugely damaging for Spaceport Cornwall’s future, and suggests the UK needs a new strategy if it’s to become a player in the commercial rocket market.There’s no hiding it. Given the company’s expectations, Virgin Orbit “failed in a spectacular way”, says, a principal advisor at Euroconsult which analyses the space industry.
The firm’s origins date back to 2004 when Branson founded Virgin Galactic, dreaming of one day taking tourists into space. By 2012, he was thinking about using the same technology to launch satellites. In 2017, that part of the business was spun off to become Virgin Orbit, an independent operation based in Long Beach, and its basic concept sounded promising.
If your country or company wants to send a satellite into space, there are few rocket firms you can go to and it’s an expensive operation. There are only aroundworldwide – none of them in western Europe – which can be held up by the weather and sometimes have months-long waiting lists. Instead, why not fit a rocket full of satellites under a conventional winged aircraft, which could take off from a wider range of locations – eliminating the transport costs and delays of shipping a delicate satellite thousands of miles – and