Even Branson didn't give the company money without a stipulation that he gets dibs on liquidation. Who's going to sign up for a rescue funding round with that kind of axe hanging over the company? It's probably over.

There's a dozen of these smallsat launch companies, it was always obvious that, including competition with SpaceX rideshares, the market can't support that and that a shakeout was inevitable.

Rocketlab and maybe one other will come through.

The Satellite companies are a better investment IMHO.

Why is there a Virgin Orbit and a Virgin Galactic?

Orbit launches satellites while Galactic is space tourism

[removed]

Because billionaires love the attention

RELATIVITY is only feasible competitor with launch capabilities.

Ah, we've reached the beginning of the end, it seems. It was always somewhat questionable whether they could make their business case close, either for demand reasons or because this tech doesn't scale up to let you launch larger satellites.

[removed]

[removed]

I would propose we've reached the end of the beginning. The VC fueled smallsat gold rush has ended; only the best positioned companies will survive.

What about Firefly? They've technically made it to orbit if only briefly and not the one they wanted, which while not a success at least shows progress over companies that haven't gotten even that far, and if I recall correctly also have some kind of deal to sell some of their engines to Northrop Grumman?

Relativity sounds very cool with their 3d printing thing and I really want them to be successful especially on account of that probably leading to some interesting technological development, but surely trying new things like that also makes them a somewhat less safe bet than companies using more conventional rocket building techniques?

Stoke looks good to me, but of course they have not proven much so far. I also would not rule out Firefly.

Relativity hasn’t done an orbital launch yet, let alone prove that they’re a viable competitor. Even one or two orbital launches doesn’t prove much, as Virgin Orbit demonstrates.

"Technically made it to orbit if only briefly." No need for an explanation but all I thought of upon reading that is the humorous "only a little pregnant" :)

People need to remember relativity is a 3d printing company wich happens to have a rocket on the side, with the pace of growth of additive manufacturing relativity has a shot at actually doing something, but I'll eat a 3d printed hat if relativity's rockets are more than just tech demonstrators for their printers ten years from now.

tax and liability separation

[removed]

[removed]

VO was spun off from galactic at some point.

I think it's odd. Virgin Orbit at least has a working product. Virgin Galactic does not, and they still keep going and going...

If they had not made that one mistake on their rocket this probably would have been a different story.

Making it to orbital height briefly is not making to orbit, it's just a balistic trajectory that happens to have a high enough apogee.

It takes more energy (possibly much more) than that to actually "make it to orbit" a state which amongst other things has the noteable characteristic that things don't just fall down from it immediatelly after reaching it (they can, over time, end up falling down from lower orbits were there is drag from the top of Earths athmosphere, but when things just go up and the fall back down again they haven't made it to orbit)

Notably, RocketLab is getting out of the small launcher business in the long run. Neutron will be closer to Falcon 9 sizes, if it works. When you see the only successful company in a field trying to build themselves out if it, that's not a field you want to be getting into.

Do they? .. have they released why their last (second) launch failed?

People have mortgages, grocery costs, bills to pay in general. A 'pause in operations' furlough realistically means a bunch of them are jumping ship so it's hard to imagine them recovering from this. Anything is possible, of course, but best case scenario is probably that they lose their top workers who can bring their ability and expertise to another company that can make payroll.

Yeah agreed. That's the big difference with relativity. Even if their rockets don't end up mattering they still have, by far, the world's most advanced 3d printing capabilities. Thats marketable regardless of how their rocket is doing

I'm aware of that, but didn't their rocket's second flight make an actual orbit, just one so low that the satellites ended up deorbiting in the next few days? Or have I been misinformed about this?

i think you have that reversed. Galactic is the tourist one. Has a list of paid customers lined up. No real future once that list is depleted,

Orbit is the "sat rocket from plane" company that has some launch issues.

Edit: Removed reference to Bezos and Shatner.

It's the age of social media. Everyone wants attention.

I don't think you know what you're talking about.

Bezos and Shatner went up on Blue Origin's New Shepard. They are a direct competitor to Virgin Galactic and have had much more success.

[removed]

No you're correct. They did make orbit on their most recent launch, just lower than the intended one.

Fuel filter dislodged and gummed up the engine.

I don't think you know what you're talking about. Virgin Galactic hasn't shut down has it? (For now anyway. Apparently they have 800 employees which doesn't sound remotely sustainable.)

VG has raised a shit ton of money that they are burning.

Not sure why its complex, one company has money the other doesn't.

Neither has a future, but one still has money.