London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Virgin Orbit shares crash after failure of first UK space launch

Virgin Orbit shares crash after failure of first UK space launch

The setback for the UK's space ambitions is reflected in Virgin Orbit's share price, which has lost ground significantly since its market debut back in 2021.
Shares in Virgin Orbit, the company behind the failed first UK space launch fell by more than a quarter at the market open in the US, greater than the 20% drop seen in pre-market trading.

Stocks fell in value from $2.01 (£1.65) at the close of trading on Monday night, to $1.50 (£1.23) when US markets opened on Tuesday morning, loosing more than 50 cent off the price of a share.

The initial losses wore off as the day progressed and the share price rose to $1.75 (£1.43) by mid-morning before levelling out to $1.69 (£1.38)

The eagerly anticipated mission, which planned to place nine satellites in orbit via the company's LauncherOne rocket, was scuppered on Monday night when a secondary engine failed to fire properly.

It marked a huge disappointment after the first space mission launch from Spaceport Cornwall.

The mission used a converted jumbo jet named Cosmic Girl to deploy the rocket.

The company, which is majority-owned by Sir Richard Branson's investment vehicle, said an "anomoly" was to blame for the problem and it was investigating the cause.

It was Virgin Orbit's first launch attempt outside of the US.

The two-stage rocket has suffered technical problems before but they are understood to have been limited to the primary engine.

Virgin Orbit - spun out of Virgin Galactic - went public in 2021 via a so-called SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) merger.

It was valued at $3.7bn ahead of the market debut but its market capitalisation had tumbled to $6540m ahead of Tuesday's trading session.

The failed launch was seen as spooking investors further and the shares were a further 23% down in premarket deals.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said of the reaction: "There had been high hopes that the operation would be the start of a brighter future for Virgin following the troubles which have beset the company since it became a publicly traded company, following the SPAC merger with Next Gen Acquisition in 2021.

"The cash burn rate for the company has been huge, and the prospects for revenue have been significantly set back.

"While space may have been heralded as the new investment frontier, the ventures clearly come with a huge amount of risk.

"This is a major set-back for Virgin Orbit and for Cornwall's ambitions as a new launchpad for space ventures, but the problems may not be unsurmountable."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×