Virgin Orbit’s rocket launch fails and shares plunge by $200 million

Posted on 10 January 2023

The UK’s first space mission failed when the Virgin Orbit rocket, along with the nine satellites it was carrying, burned up in the atmosphere after a failed launch.

The rocket’s failure also resulted in Virgin’s shares dropping by $200 million when the company hoped to show investors what the company was capable of.

Virgin Orbit’s modified 747 plane, Cosmic Girl, took off from Spaceport Cornwall, carrying the company’s LauncherOne rocket under its wing.

At an altitude of roughly 10 000 m, the rocket deployed from Cosmic Girl and ignited its main engine. At some point during the flight, however, it suffered an “unknown anomaly” and burnt up in the atmosphere.

‘We’ll share more info when we can’ VirginOrbit posted on Twitter while also posting that Cosmic Girl had landed safely in Cornwall.

This launch was Virgin Orbit’s sixth attempt to reach orbit, and the second in-flight failure.

Picture: Screenshot

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