Virgin Orbit blames 'dislodged filter' for January launch failure (updated)

Virgin Orbit Holdings

19/04/2023 20:34

(Adds details from Washington Post report)
       April 19 (Reuters) - Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc  VORB.O 
on Wednesday blamed a dislodged filter for a failed rocket
launch in January, and said it was planning another mission
later this year as the issue had been fixed.
    The satellite launch company, founded by billionaire Richard
Branson, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this
month as it struggled to secure long-term funding following the
failed launch.
    The January mission using Virgin Orbit's centerpiece
LauncherOne rocket, the first rocket launch out of Britain,
failed to reach orbit and sent its payload of commercial and
defense-related research satellites plunging into the ocean.
    "Ground test results matched flight data, confirming the
dislodging of the filter as the initiation event of the January
launch failure," Virgin Orbit said on Wednesday.
    The company added that a series of tests had verified the
performance of the redesigned filter and that another launch was
planned from Mojave Air and Space Port in California later this
year.
    In an interview with the Washington Post on Wednesday, CEO
Dan Hart said some key financial and operational missteps led
the company to burn through hundreds of millions of dollars,
while producing just a handful of successful launches.
        The company, which now has just 100 employees, was in "a
lot of discussions" with potential buyers, Hart told the
Washington Post.
  

 (Reporting by Tiyashi Datta and Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru;
Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Anil D'Silva)
 ((tiyashi.datta@thomsonreuters.com))