Virgin Orbit flirts with bankruptcy as SpaceX and Amazon double down on satellites

Failure to launch… Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit could be on the brink of bankruptcy. Last week the satellite-launching startup paused operations and reportedly furloughed most of its staff. Yesterday, CNBC reported that Branson’s baby was scrambling to raise cash. If Virgin Orbit fails to secure a funding lifeline or a buyer, it could file for bankruptcy as soon as this week. If dollars are rocket fuel, Virgin Orbit is burning it fast.

• Boeing up: Virgin Orbit (which was spun out from space-tourism company Virgin Galactic) developed a new system to launch satellites by dropping rockets from the wings of Boeing 747 jets.
• Major L: In January, Virgin Orbit was poised to send the first satellites into orbit from UK soil. But the historic mission flopped after its rocket failed to reach orbit, which led to the destruction of nine small satellites for governments.
• Descent: Virgin Orbit stock has plunged nearly 75% this year following the failed launch, and it lost $140M from January to September of last year.

To infinity, and Elon… The satellite industry has mostly been dominated by huge missions to launch huge satellites for huge companies, but startups like SpaceX and Virgin Orbit have found a niche: launching smaller satellites for smaller customers at lower orbits. SpaceX's Starlink satellite-internet biz has launched ~4K satellites to date and has 1M subscribers (think: residential WiFi). Now SpaceX is gearing up to test Starlink satellite-to-cell phone service, which Musk had said would be available on T-Mobile phones this year. Meanwhile, Amazon just revealed “Project Kuiper,” its forthcoming low-cost satellite-internet dishes.