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Virgin Orbit

Defunct air-launch company that dropped its LauncherOne rocket from a modified Boeing 747. It went bankrupt in 2023 and sold its plane and factory assets to Stratolaunch, Rocket Lab and Launcher. (1 product in the atlas)

Kept for history: shut down in 2023.

Products, by altitude

Launch · From the pad to orbit

  • Retired

    LauncherOne

    Retired rocket launched in midair from under a jumbo jet

Milestones

  • Jun 2023 Assets sold on June 2 and June 5, 2023: the Cosmic Girl 747 to Stratolaunch for $17.0 million, the Long Beach factory lease and equipment to Rocket Lab for $16.1 million, and Mojave equipment to Launcher for $2.7 million.⁠1
  • Apr 2023 Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware to sell the business.⁠2

Sources

  1. Virgin Orbit Holdings Form 8-K via SEC EDGARJun 5, 2023
  2. Virgin Orbit press release via SEC EDGAR (Form 8-K)Apr 4, 2023

Updated Oct 22, 2026 · How we source facts · Suggest a correction