nbc-news 1 year ago
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NBC | Why Virgin Orbit Failed

Virgin Orbit started out as a program at space tourism venture, Virgin Galactic, in 2012 before being spun off into a separate company in 2017.

Virgin Orbit’s goal was to build rockets capable of blasting small satellites into space and, at the time, this was still a largely untapped market.


Virgin Orbit was well-capitalized, had a dedicated team of talent and a functioning launch system.


But launch delays, an inability to land a major customer and an evolving satellite launch market eventually got the company in hot water.


Watch the video to find out more about what led to Virgin Orbit’s eventual bankruptcy.

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