Following the announcement of its merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) in the form of NextGen Acquisition Corp, Virgin Orbit now says it wants its own in-orbit satellite system. Backed by Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Orbit wants to transition from launching small satellites to building its own satellite constellation for Internet-of-Things (IoT) and […]
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit satellite launch system (and not to be confused with his Virgin Galactic passenger tourism venture) is set to go public with a NASDAQ quote. The company says its revenues will grow 100-fold by 2025 to $1.55 billion. Virgin Orbit has merged with one of the increasingly fashionable Special Purpose Acquisitions […]
Following on from the success of launching himself and three passengers into space last week, Sir Richard Branson’s sister business Virgin Orbit will start launching and deploying a greater number of satellites in 2022. Virgin Orbit’s VP/Flight & Launch Activities, Tyler Grinnell, newly appointed to the position after a dozen years at SpaceX, told Fox […]
To describe Sir Richard Branson as a successful entrepreneur is perhaps an understatement, but the world knows that billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos tops that category. However, when it comes to sub-orbital space flight, the pair are almost neck and neck in their ambitions. On July 11th, while insisting there’s absolutely no rivalry with Bezos, […]
Last week the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a licence extension to Sir Richard Branson-backed Virgin Galactic. It means that the aircraft and rocket combination can now fly commercial passengers into near-space. This is the first FAA permission needed for Virgin Galactic to carry passengers. Branson has repeatedly promised to be aboard the first […]
Sir Richard Branson managed to handle a reverse take-over of his Virgin Galactic space tourism business by a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) and a stock market listing in October 2019. Now he is reportedly trying a similar scheme with Virgin Orbit. Branson is looking for another SPAC, this time targeting NextGeneration Acquisition II, which […]
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic ‘spaceship’ VSS Unity achieved a speed of Mach 3 after being released from the mothership, VMS Eve, and reached space at an altitude of 55.45 miles (89 kms) before gliding smoothly to a runway landing at Spaceport America in New Mexico back on May 22nd. The Unity craft carried a […]
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin/New Shephard rocket is scheduled to carry its first space tourist passengers on July 20th. The move means that Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic will now be a very definite second place in the race to tap into space tourism. A note to clients from investment bank UBS says that Virgin Galactic […]
Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit company has reportedly hired bankers in preparation for an Initial Public Offering. Virgin Orbit will use a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) as its first step on the road to public participation and the overall aim is for a valuation of some $2.5-$3 billion, according to The WSJ. Virgin Orbit uses […]
The Richard Branson-backed Virgin Galactic space tourism business is facing more than a few fundamental changes. First up, it is losing its former CEO George Whitesides who changed to Chief Space Officer in July last year, and is now stepping aside but remains of the company’s advisory board. He had been in post since 2010. […]