Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit pauses operations as firm to 'furlough staff'

16 March 2023 , 08:46

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The news was first reported by NCBC on Wednesday (Image: Getty Images)

Satellite launching company Virgin Orbit is "pausing" its operations from today as it seeks new funding.

Almost all employees at the satellite launch company will reportedly also be furloughed.

Virgin Orbit's chief executive Dan Hart told staff in a meeting that the furlough was intended to buy Virgin Orbit time to finalise a new investment plan Reuters reported.

There has been no clear confirmation of how long the operational pause is going to last.

A spokesperson for Virgin Orbit confirmed the "operational pause" in a statement, but did not comment on the furloughs.

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The statement said: “Virgin Orbit is initiating a company-wide operational pause, effective March 16, 2023, and anticipates providing an update on go-forward operations in the coming weeks."

CNBC first reported the news on Wednesday.

Launched in 2017, Virgin Orbit is a company within the Virgin Group, owned by Richard Branson, which provides launch services for small satellites.

The group's first rocket launch was in June of 2021.

Earlier this year, it attempted to launch nine satellites into low-Earth orbit from its UK base however this mission failed.

This was reportedly due to a fuel filter that had been "dislodged from its normal position."

The company's "Start Me Up" mission launched from Spaceport Cornwall on January 9 and at first, things went well.

In a tweet shared in February, Virgin Orbit said: "The ignition, first stage flight, stage separation, second stage ignition and fairing deployment of the LauncherOne rocket were nominal."

"Each of these milestones constituted a first-of-its-kind achievement for any orbital launch attempt from western Europe."

However, due to the dodgy fuel filter, the hot engine eventually malfunctioned which put an end to the mission.

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Commenting on the mission failure, Dan Hart said: “In space launch, a failure is painful for all involved.

"Intense disappointment gets quickly channelled into the motivation to dig into the cause, to understand all contributing elements and thereby get back to flight with a better system and a wiser team."

The mission was considered a major milestone for the UK space industry.

The company said on Wednesday that Its investigation into the launch failure was "nearly complete".

It continued: "Our next production rocket with the needed modification incorporated is in final stages of integration and test."

Ruby Flanagan