British billionaire Richard Branson shows a model of Launcher One, an air-launched rocket, to the ... [+]
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit has failed in its attempts to launch a rocket over the Pacific Ocean as the space race for the small satellite market hots up.
The plan to launch a rocket from under the wing of a retired 747, known as Cosmic Girl from Mojave Air and Space Port to the north of Los Angeles was “safely terminated” after the LauncherOne rocket “ignited” but failed to climb into orbit.
Sympathy and support for Virgin’s failed attempt came from Tesla’s Elon Musk, who replied to the news on twitter, “Sorry to hear that. Orbit is hard. Took us four attempts with Falcon 1.” Musk’s claims Falcon 1 was the first privately-developed liquid-fueled rocket to successfully reach orbit in September 2008, describing the launch after three failed attempts as “much more relief than elation." Adding, "It's great to have this giant monkey off my back," Musk is reported by Space Flight Now as saying.
Although obviously disappointed, Virgin confirmed that the data from the test will prove valuable and with the next rocket in the “final stages” of development subsequent missions are “not far behind.”
Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said in a statement:
“We accomplished many of the goals we set for ourselves, though not as many as we would have liked ... nevertheless, we took a big step forward today. Our engineers are already poring through the data. Our next rocket is waiting. We will learn, adjust, and begin preparing for our next test, which is coming up soon.”
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at a press conference at SpaceX headquarters
Billionaire Space Race
Branson’s Virgin Orbit started life as a space-themed side-hustle to his Virgin Galactic space tourism project that went public last year.
Chad Anderson from Space Angels told Forbes last year Virgin Orbit took shape after following investment from Aabar, one of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds. “One of the requirements was that they diversify their product offering, “Human spaceflight was interesting but risky and unproven and so they wanted to apply their rocket technology to launching satellites – an existing, proven market. They did so, then spun it out later.”
Branson has spent over a $1 billion across Virgin Galactic, Virgin Orbit, and the Spaceship Company but the coronavirus pandemic has forced a rethink on his priorities starting earlier this month with plans to sell up to $400 million of his shares in Virgin Galactic to help save other arms of his empire, namely airline Virgin Atlantic.
Sir Richard Branson blows a kiss before boarding his flight to Kuala Lumpur at Perth International ... [+]
With the share price now down to $15—down from a high of $37 in February this year, Virgin Group confirmed in the statement that it will “use any proceeds to support its portfolio of global leisure, holiday and travel businesses that have been affected by the unprecedented impact of COVID-19.”
In early May Virgin Atlantic announced it would cut 3,150 jobs and end flights from London Gatwick, with CEO Shai Weiss warning that although the airline has “weathered many storms,” nothing “has been as devastating as COVID-19 and the associated loss of life and livelihood for so many.”
