Virgin Orbit Holdings’ (NASDAQ:VORB) U.K. space mission got off on the wrong foot after its orbital satellites failed to launch into the earth’s orbit.
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The 747 aircraft “Cosmic Girl,” which was carrying the LauncherOne rocket, took off from Spaceport Cornwall yesterday. The LauncherOne rocket was carrying small satellites from seven customers into orbit.
Unfortunately, when the rocket was being fired from the aircraft, an anomaly led the mission to end prematurely before making it to orbit. This was Virgin Orbit’s second in-flight failure and sixth mission to reach orbit. The company has so far successfully launched satellites to orbit four times, each time from Mojave, California.
Upon successful completion, the mission could make Britain one of those countries that have their own facilities to launch satellites. This could potentially take the economy forward by £3.8 billion ($4.5 billion) over the next 10 years, according to government estimates.
Following the failed attempt, shares plunged more than 20% in Monday’s after-hours trading session and are still down approximately 12.4% at writing. The stock is down more than 80% since it went public in January last year.
Is VORB Stock a Buy, According to Analysts?
VORB stock has a Moderate Sell rating based on just one bearish analyst. VORB’s price target of $1 implies downside risk of 40.8%.
