The doomed company shares images of LauncherOne, with the caption “Next up”.
Virgin Orbit, the company known for air launching rockets from a modified 747, recently filed for bankruptcy, under Chapter 11 protection to continue selling the business off. For shareholders that meant the company was bust, but for space fans, that meant no more launches. All seemed lost for the company, until a recent tweet was shared on their twitter page hinting at a possible future launch.
In short summary, filing under a chapter 11 is a form of bankruptcy that involves the restructuring of a company. This allows Virgin Orbit to continue operations in some form or another, while also giving them the opportunity to restructure the company for the best interests of the creditors. In short, a fresh start may be possible for Virgin Orbit.
Is there hope?
It’s no doubt that Virgin Orbit has a long way to go before returning to launches, however they seem to have an abundance of optimism that can be seen as a good sign to shareholders and space fans alike. The problems with LauncherOne cannot be ignored however, such as the astronomically high development costs and uncompetitive pricing, however the future may just be bright for air-launched rockets, such as LauncherOne.
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