Future Of British Business

Virgin Orbit Slumps 22% After Rocket Fails to Reach Orbit

Mission suffered unknown anomaly after launch from plane
Shares of Branson-controlled firm plunge in early US trading

The Cosmic Girl carrying the LauncherOne rocket under its left wing at Cornwall Airport Newquay on Jan. 9.Photographer: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images Europe

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By Loren Grush and Christopher Jasper

January 9, 2023 at 11:58 PM UTC

Updated on

January 10, 2023 at 2:36 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc. slumped more than 20% early Tuesday after the company’s first launch out of the UK failed to reach orbit due to an unknown mishap mid-flight.

The failure dealt a blow to Britain’s bid to join the ranks of space nations, as the launch was set to be the first orbital mission to take off from British soil.