Virgin Orbit has resumed operations with a small set of employees after a week-long furlough, while most employees will remain on furlough until at least March 27. The company is seeking new funding to remain solvent after the Jan. 9 failure of its LauncherOne rocket on the company’s first mission from the United Kingdom. The investigation into the failure is nearly complete, and the rocket is in the final stages of integration and test. Virgin Orbit is reportedly in talks with venture fund Matthew Brown Companies to raise up to $200 million through a private share placement.
Virgin Orbit is furloughing most employees and pausing operations for a week as it seeks new investors to relieve financial pressure. The company reported a loss of $49.2 million in its last fiscal quarter and suffered a setback earlier this year when its mission to launch nine satellites into low-Earth orbit failed. Despite these issues, Virgin Orbit is making progress toward its next launch and plans to give an update on go-forward operations in the coming weeks.
Virgin Orbit has announced an "operational pause" and furloughed its staff for at least a week due to financial issues. The company has raised $60 million in loans from Virgin Investments Limited since November, all secured by its assets, including its Boeing 747 aircraft. The company has not released updated financial results since November 2022 and has suffered a technical setback in January when its first LauncherOne mission failed to reach orbit. The investigation into that failure is nearly complete, and the company's next production rocket is in the final stages of integration and test.
