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☆ Spaceport locals say rocket launch by billionaire Richard Branson boosted their farming community and put the area on the map
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Virgin Orbit's rocket broke down, but residents said the launch will put Cornwall on the map. Kate Duffy/InsiderSue and Paul Nuttall, who were looking to retire soon, told Insider that Virgin Orbit's launch was needed to put Cornwall, a farming county, on the map. Hosting Virgin Orbit's launch will hopefully keep children like Seth who are interested in space in Cornwall, Emma said. Virgin Orbit's mission was set to be the UK's first orbital space launch from UK soil. In a press conference on Sunday, Melissa Thorpe, head of Spaceport Cornwall, said she hopes residents feel proud of Cornwall "going to the stars."

☆ Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit says its rocket suffered an 'anomaly,' stopping it from taking 9 satellites to orbit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Virgin Orbit said it has experienced an "anomaly" with its rocket during a UK space mission. The "Start Me Up" satellite mission was scheduled for Monday from Spaceport Cornwall at Cornwall Airport Newquay in southern England. About half an hour later, Virgin Orbit tweeted: "We appear to have an anomaly that has prevented us from reaching orbit. Richard Branson's company previously wrote on Twitter that its LauncherOne rocket had successfully reached orbit, but later tweeted that didn't happen and it would remove the post. Matt Archer, commercial space director at the UK Space Agency, told reporters on Monday that he was "disappointed, but proud of what we've achieved."

☆ Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit is set to launch the first orbital rocket from UK soil on Monday. Watch live as the rocket drops from a Boeing 747.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit is set to launch the first orbital space rocket from British soil. Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said the crew will proceed cautiously in case winds or lightning set in. Watch the historic rocket launch live on Virgin Orbit's YouTube page below. Livestream: Watch Virgin Orbit's Cosmic Girl take off and release the rocketWatch the historical rocket launch live on Virgin Orbit's YouTube livestream below, starting at 4:30 p.m. Cosmic Girl, a repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747-400 aircraft, is expected to take off from Spaceport Cornwall between 5:16 p.m.

☆ Virgin Orbit stock plummets after failure of its first UK rocket launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Virgin Orbit stock fell in trading on Monday evening, after the company confirmed that its first launch out of the United Kingdom failed to reach orbit. Shares of Virgin Orbit fell as much as 30% in after-hours trading, from its previous close of $1.93 a share. Virgin Orbit's webcast showed its LauncherOne rocket released and fired its engine, with the company saying in a tweet that the rocket "successfully reached Earth orbit." Virgin Orbit is reviewing the launch data to identify the source of the failure, and acknowledged that it deleted the tweet about reaching orbit. Monday's mission was Virgin Orbit's sixth to date, and its second launch failure.

☆ Richard Branson left school at 15—his headmaster said he'd either 'go to prison' or 'become a millionaire’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

When billionaire Richard Branson was 15, he dropped out of school to run a magazine. The headmaster at Branson's school was taken aback by his persuasiveness, and offered a prediction and a warning. "[I knew] I could pay for the printing of the paper and manufacturing, and so I quit school … with the headmaster saying, 'You're either going to prison or you're going to become a millionaire,'" Branson, 72, said on the podcast. Branson hasn't spent any time behind bars, but he has an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion, as of Thursday morning. In a 2019 blog post, Branson wrote that dyslexia is often associated with high levels of creativity and problem-solving abilities.

☆ SpaceX to raise $750 million at $137 billion valuation - CNBC
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 2 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX is raising $750 million in a new round of funding that values the rocket and satellite company at $137 billion from investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, CNBC reported late Monday. SpaceX, which counts Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) and Fidelity Investments among its investors, had raised about $1.68 billion through equity financing in June. Spokespersons for SpaceX and Horowitz did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Horowitz was also a co-investor in Musk's Twitter buyout deal worth $44 billion. SpaceX has launched numerous cargo payloads and astronauts to the International Space Station for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

☆ Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit gets green light for first orbital space launch from UK — and will use a repurposed Boeing 747 for the mission
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit gained a license for the first orbital space launch from the UK. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the UK's space regulator, announced in a statement on Wednesday that Virgin Orbit was permitted to launch from Spaceport Cornwall in southern England. Issuing the final license to Virgin Orbit for the UK's first orbital satellite launch was another "major milestone," the CAA said in the statement. Virgin Orbit didn't respond to Insider's request for comment about the new launch date. Virgin Orbit has named the mission "Start Me Up" after a song by The Rolling Stones.

Page purchased Hans Lollik and its smaller neighboring island, Little Hans Lollik, in 2014 for $23 million. The Hans Lollik Islands in the US Virgin Islands were bought by Larry Page in 2014 cdwheatley/Getty ImagesPage purchased the islands from Liberty Bankers Life Insurance Company using a limited-liability company called Virgin Island Properties LLC. Page's intentions for the Hans Lollik islands are unclear, but the larger island of the two may have personal significance for the Google cofounder. In the deposition, Osborne hinted that Larry proposed to his wife, the research scientist Lucinda Southworth, on Hans Lollik. Page expands to the South PacificIn 2020, Page added another island to his portfolio: the heart-shaped Tavarua island in Fiji's Mamanuca archipelago.

☆ India's first private rocket company looks to slash satellite costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Nivedita Bhattacharjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Employees pose in front of Vikram-S rocket, India?s first private rocket developed by Skyroot, an Indian Space-Tech startup, at a spaceport in Sriharikota, India, November 18, 2022. The Hyderabad-based company, backed by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, GIC, says the $68 million it has raised will fund its next two launches. Skyroot faces both established and up-and-coming rocket launch rivals that also promise to bring down costs. India opened the door to private space companies in 2020 with a regulatory overhaul and a new agency to boost private-sector launches. The Skyroot rocket that reached 89.5 kilometers altitude in last week's test launch used carbon-fibre components and 3D-printed parts, including the thrusters.

REUTERS/Michael Weekes Jr./File PhotoNov 15 (Reuters) - Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite company SpaceX is in talks about an offering of mostly secondary shares that could value the company at up to $150 billion, representing a 20% increase in valuation, sources told Reuters. The offering would be aimed at helping employees and shareholders cash out, two of the sources said. That view appears to contradict earlier information from a separate source that the offering would raise up to $1 billion for SpaceX via a new share issuance. Talks with potential investors are centering around a price of $85 apiece for SpaceX shares, up from a split-adjusted $70 per share fetched earlier this year, sources said. The valuation is still fluid and any share sale plan, which requires SpaceX’s approval, could still change, the sources cautioned.

☆ Britain issues first spaceport licence ahead of maiden satellite launch
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Sarah Young | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Britain issued its first spaceport licence on Wednesday, paving the way for the country's maiden satellite launch later this year as it looks to become Europe's leading space industry player. The licence was issued to Spaceport Cornwall. The first UK launch is expected before the end of the year, the UK Space Agency's deputy chief executive, Ian Annett, said in a CAA statement. Virgin Orbit plans to use a modified Boeing 747 with a rocket attached under its wing. The CAA said Spaceport Cornwall had demonstrated it had met the appropriate safety, security and environmental requirements to become a spaceport.

REUTERS/Michael Weekes Jr./File PhotoNov 15 (Reuters) - Billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX is in talks to raise nearly $1 billion in a new round that would value the rocket-launch and satellite company at about $150 billion, sources told Reuters. The ongoing talks offer SpaceX's share at about $85 apiece, up from the $125 billion valuation the company fetched earlier this year, sources said, suggesting strong investors' appetite while many late-stage venture capital-backed startups have to cope with valuation cut. Investors could buy new shares issued by SpaceX, or from employees who opt to sell via a private placement, or tender offer. The primary raise could fetch nearly $1 billion, one of the sources added. Investors have shown strong interest in SpaceX as the company has had a series of breakthroughs this year.

☆ Virgin Orbit raises $25 million from Branson's conglomerate as cash reserve dwindles
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Virgin Orbit raised $25 million, the company announced Monday alongside its third-quarter results, as the alternative rocket launcher faces a dwindling cash reserve. The company disclosed that Richard Branson's Virgin Group, an existing shareholder, made the additional $25 million investment on Nov. 4. Virgin Orbit emphasized in its report that it will "continue to be opportunistic in the capital markets," as the company is "focusing on cost and operational efficiency to improve cash flow." The company brought in revenue of $30.9 million and had $71.2 million in cash on hand at the end of the third quarter. Virgin Orbit said the fourth launch is currently "paced by spacecraft readiness."

☆ Virgin Orbit to launch first satellite in Europe within six weeks - Branson
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Juliette Portala | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MILAN, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Richard Branson's small satellite service provider Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc (VORB.O) will be doing its first launch from European soil within the next six weeks, its founder said on Tuesday. "Virgin Orbit can launch satellites into space from anywhere in the world into any orbit at a days notice," Branson said during a press conference in Milan. "We are doing the first launch from European soil into space within the next six weeks ... from Cornwall," he added. Founded by Branson back in 2017, the company began commercial service in 2021. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Elisa Anzolin; writing by Agnieszka Flak, editing by Cristina CarlevaroOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kamala Harris announces space coalition including Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin as the White House seeks to broaden the aerospace industry
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-09 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

VP Kamala Harris announced a new coalition of space firms to diversify the workforce of the aerospace industry, per Reuters. The report said Blue Origin, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman will anchor the coalition. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman are set to anchor the coalition, the statement said, per Reuters. Other companies including Elon Musk's SpaceX, Bezos' Amazon, and Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit will partner in the coalition, the White House said in the statement, per Reuters. The White House and the other companies mentioned in this report didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ Pollution from SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic's rockets could harm human health as well as Earth's climate, study says
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-19 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fumes from SpaceX and Blue Origin's rockets could harm health and the climate, a study showed. It said the concentration of nitrogen oxides released by a rocket was "hazardous to human health." The rise in launches by commercial space firms may have a big impact on the climate, per the study. The increase in rocket launches by commercial space companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic "could have a significant cumulative effect on climate," the study said. Blue Origin is planning its fifth human flight to the edge of space in May after already launching its resuable New Shepard rocket in March.

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