Virgin Orbit flew a Boeing 747 modified “Cosmic Girl” with the company’s LauncherOne rocket under the wing for the first time on November 18, 2018.
Virgin Orbit
Virgin Orbit brought a “small” team to work on Thursday, according to company emails obtained by CNBC, as it aims to prepare for the next rocket launch even as the future remains in doubt.
“Any path forward for our operations will require us to be successful,” Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said in an email to employees.
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Hart described this as the “first step” in “incremental re-operations,” while Virgin Orbit extended unpaid furloughs and a pause in operations for more than 750 of the company’s people “at least Monday.”
The company’s leadership is scrambling to secure a funding lifeline and avoid bankruptcy, CNBC previously reported. Hart noted the pause has been “to conserve cash while we can to assess options to secure the future of Virgin Orbit.”
“We’ve made some important progress this week, but there’s still work to be done,” Hart wrote.
The modified 737 “Cosmic Girl” departs from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California carrying the LauncherOne rocket on June 30, 2021.
Virgin Orbit
A Virgin Orbit spokeswoman confirmed in a statement to CNBC that the company laid off a subset of employees on Thursday, but declined to specify how many are continuing to work. Hart’s email said the returning staff would “focus on critical areas for the next mission,” including trying to test and install rocket engines. Reuters first reported the partial resumption of work.
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Virgin Orbit is developing a system that uses modified 747 jets to send satellites into space by dropping rockets from under the plane’s wings mid-flight. But the company’s last mission suffered a mid-flight failure, with problems during launch causing the rocket to miss orbit and crash into the ocean.
In an update last week, Virgin Orbit said its internal investigation was nearly complete, with the rocket for the next launch featuring modifications and “in the final stages of integration and testing.”
Hart in his email wrote that Virgin Orbit “is facing uncertainty and I understand that it is very uncomfortable,” noting that employees who have not returned to work can continue to use vacation or sick days to help cover unpaid time off.
The company has been looking for new funding for several months, with majority owner Sir Richard Branson refusing to finance the company further.