Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson AFP via Getty ImagesIn late May, at the height of the pandemic, William Pomerantz, VP of special projects at Virgin Orbit, wanted to give Richard Branson’s beleaguered Virgin group a big, morale-boosting win. By the time the 747 took off, with a Virgin Orbit rocket beneath its wing, Branson had already sunk an estimated $700 million into the venture. A Virgin Orbit 747-400 aircraft named 'Cosmic Girl' on final approach to Long Beach (CA) Airport, ... [+] home of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit company Getty ImagesFellow rocket man Elon Musk reacted with sympathy. Orbit is hard,” he tweeted, adding that it took his firm, SpaceX, four attempts before reaching orbit in September 2008. Elon Musk looks on as US President Donald Trump attends SpaceX launch AFP via Getty ImagesWhile Virgin’s mature business empire has bled cash, his biggest competitors in space have thrived.

Source: Forbes September 06, 2020 06:00 UTC