Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc. is replacing a filter in its rocket that likely played a role in a failed launch last month as the company seeks to recover from a “painful” event that has weighed on its stock.
(Bloomberg) — Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc. is replacing a filter in its rocket that likely played a role in a failed launch last month as the company seeks to recover from a “painful” event that has weighed on its stock.
While Virgin Orbit is still investigating the cause of the failure, it likely stemmed from a fuel filter that was “dislodged from its normal position” inside part of the rocket’s fuel line, according to a statement Tuesday.
“We are modifying our next rocket with a more robust filter and we are looking broadly to assure that all credible contributors to mission failure are rooted out and addressed,” Chief Executive Officer Dan Hart said in the statement. “With those modifications being incorporated on our factory floor, we will proceed cautiously toward the launch of our next rocket, which is well into the integration and test process.”
Virgin Orbit last month hoped to achieve the first orbital launch to begin from British soil when its rocket departed from Spaceport Cornwall in the UK. The company’s modified 747 “Cosmic Girl” successfully took off and deployed the LauncherOne rocket over the Atlantic Ocean before a mishap occurred while igniting the upper stage engine, resulting in the loss of the mission.
Hart said last week that the fuel filter had emerged as a possible cause, Space News reported. The latest update provides details about other contributing factors, including a fuel pump that wasn’t working as planned, ultimately leading to less fuel running through LauncherOne’s upper stage engine. The events caused the engine to shut down prematurely, and LauncherOne fell back to Earth, along with its payloads.
Virgin Orbit said its next launch will be for an unidentified commercial customer from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.
The company’s shares rose 3.5% as of 6:26 p.m. after regular trading in New York. The stock is down 15% this year through Tuesday’s close.
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