In a bizarre turn of events, Britain's space ambitions have crash-landed like an alien spaceship in a low-budget B-movie. Virgin Orbit, the brainchild of Sir Richard Branson, has hit the eject button on its operations, leaving the UK's satellite manufacturing industry reeling and gazing longingly at the stars.
The company's CEO, Dan Hart, delivered the interstellar blow on March 30th, announcing a funding vacuum that's forcing Virgin Orbit to cease operations "for the foreseeable future." It's a harsh reality for a company launched just five years ago with sky-high aspirations.
Hart added that Virgin Orbit now has "no choice but to implement immediate, dramatic, and extremely painful changes," comparing the all-hands meeting to an agonizing asteroid collision.
Houston, We Have a Layoff Problem
The fallout from this cosmic calamity includes terminating 85% of Virgin Orbit's workforce –675 Earthlings losing their jobs. The company is dishing out roughly $15 million in severance payments, benefits costs, and outplacement services, taking a meteor-sized hit to its budget.
With a stock price that's plummeted 89.1% in just three months, it's no wonder that the company's market capitalization has dwindled to a mere $67.4 million. Virgin Orbit's dreams of launching rockets from modified Boeing 747s (dubbed "Cosmic Girls") are grounded, and it's left wondering if there's life after rocket failure.
The Lighter Side of Space Failures
Although it may be hard to find humor in such a colossal setback, Virgin Orbit's ambitious aspirations to offer a fast, adaptable space launch service for small satellites make for a quirky tale of interstellar misadventure. Their unique method of attaching rockets to the wing of a Cosmic Girl may have been cheaper and more flexible, but as they say, "Space is hard."
Now, the burden of Sir Richard Branson's lofty space dreams rests solely on the wings of Virgin Galactic, which aims to send tourists to the stars. But for now, it seems that Virgin Orbit's space dreams have been relegated to the clearance bin of cosmic aspirations.
Poll Question: Which alternative launch method should Virgin Orbit have tried instead?
Investors Trading Academy
The Comedic Collapse of Virgin Orbit
A Cosmic Girl Grounded
In a bizarre turn of events, Britain's space ambitions have crash-landed like an alien spaceship in a low-budget B-movie. Virgin Orbit, the brainchild of Sir Richard Branson, has hit the eject button on its operations, leaving the UK's satellite manufacturing industry reeling and gazing longingly at the stars.
The company's CEO, Dan Hart, delivered the interstellar blow on March 30th, announcing a funding vacuum that's forcing Virgin Orbit to cease operations "for the foreseeable future." It's a harsh reality for a company launched just five years ago with sky-high aspirations.
Hart added that Virgin Orbit now has "no choice but to implement immediate, dramatic, and extremely painful changes," comparing the all-hands meeting to an agonizing asteroid collision.
Houston, We Have a Layoff Problem
The fallout from this cosmic calamity includes terminating 85% of Virgin Orbit's workforce –675 Earthlings losing their jobs. The company is dishing out roughly $15 million in severance payments, benefits costs, and outplacement services, taking a meteor-sized hit to its budget.
With a stock price that's plummeted 89.1% in just three months, it's no wonder that the company's market capitalization has dwindled to a mere $67.4 million. Virgin Orbit's dreams of launching rockets from modified Boeing 747s (dubbed "Cosmic Girls") are grounded, and it's left wondering if there's life after rocket failure.
The Lighter Side of Space Failures
Although it may be hard to find humor in such a colossal setback, Virgin Orbit's ambitious aspirations to offer a fast, adaptable space launch service for small satellites make for a quirky tale of interstellar misadventure. Their unique method of attaching rockets to the wing of a Cosmic Girl may have been cheaper and more flexible, but as they say, "Space is hard."
Now, the burden of Sir Richard Branson's lofty space dreams rests solely on the wings of Virgin Galactic, which aims to send tourists to the stars. But for now, it seems that Virgin Orbit's space dreams have been relegated to the clearance bin of cosmic aspirations.
Poll Question: Which alternative launch method should Virgin Orbit have tried instead?
2 years ago | [YT] | 5