Sympathy and support for Virgin’s failed attempt came from Tesla’s Elon Musk, who replied to the news on twitter, “Sorry to hear that. Adding, "It's great to have this giant monkey off my back," Musk is reported by Space Flight Now as saying. We will learn, adjust, and begin preparing for our next test, which is coming up soon.”SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at a press conference at SpaceX headquarters Getty ImagesBillionaire Space RaceBranson’s Virgin Orbit started life as a space-themed side-hustle to his Virgin Galactic space tourism project that went public last year. Chad Anderson from Space Angels told Forbes last year Virgin Orbit took shape after following investment from Aabar, one of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds. They did so, then spun it out later.”Branson has spent over a $1 billion across Virgin Galactic, Virgin Orbit, and the Spaceship Company but the coronavirus pandemic has forced a rethink on his priorities starting earlier this month with plans to sell up to $400 million of his shares in Virgin Galactic to help save other arms of his empire, namely airline Virgin Atlantic.

Source: Forbes May 26, 2020 10:30 UTC