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Above the Clouds: Timing Update
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As we closed out 2021, we found ourselves busier than ever! In December, we completed our final launch rehearsal for the upcoming Above the Clouds launch, now scheduled for January 12. That successful test has us heading into the new year with excellent momentum and high confidence.
The upcoming launch will be our third to carry customer satellites, following on the heels of our two prior launch successes. We've launched 19 satellites already, serving the commercial, international and national security communities. We will again serve all three markets on this flight.
Above the Clouds will take off from the Mojave Airport in California, where we'll turn a pre-existing runway into an operational spaceport, because that's how we roll.
Because we launch from under the wing of a 747, rather than being tied to the ground, we can vary the actual launch point quite a bit even at any given spaceport in order to hit tailored orbits. It’s another capability that sets us apart from other launch systems.
A year ago, no one had ever launched a liquid-fueled rocket to orbit from under the wing of an airplane. Now, we’ve brought a new capability to the global space community, proven the responsive abilities of our platform with new customers like Spire and helped an incredible and growing group of customers do amazing things.
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It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like ... Success!
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The final space conference of the year in 2021 was the inimitable World Satellite Business Week (WSBW) in Paris. This gathering provided a remarkable venue to talk with customers about how we can help them in 2022 and beyond.
And, we made several exciting announcements throughout the week. Space launch and in space applications go hand in hand. Working with great teams like the ones you will read about below, we’re helping to open space for good, bringing vital services and solutions that impact lives right here on our favorite planet, Earth.
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Expanding Space Solutions
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One of the first announcements we made from WSBW was that we’ve agreed to acquire a 17.5% stake in geospatial analytics company Hypersat. With highly accurate electro-optic and hyperspectral imagery capabilities, we’re improving our ability to understand the planet.
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The Most Wonderful Friends
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At WSBW, we also expanded our relationship with our wonderful friends at
SatRevolution. We’ve flown some of their satellites to space, we’ve got more loaded into our rocket right now for our upcoming launch, and that’s just a start.
We admire the work that SatRevolution does, and we're proud to deepen our relationship to the company: We've agreed to invest in their Series B, helping them drive their capabilities into new markets, enabling applications for Earth observation and more. |
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Continuing with our flurry of announcements, we recently revealed that we have been selected as the preferred launch partner of Horizon Technologies, the UK-based global leader in space-based Maritime Domain Awareness.
Their technology is vital to detection of illegal activity/fishing, piracy, smuggling, trafficking, and transshipments. |
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It's a Quantum Kind of Holiday
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We also announced that we’ve expanded our agreements with Arqit Quantum. They’ve signed a contract with us as their exclusive launch partner for as many as five launches from Spaceport Cornwall starting in 2023.
We are thrilled to play our part in supporting Arqit's incredible Federated Quantum System for encrypted communications. We've also signed a QuantumCloudTM Software License, which make us the world’s first quantum-safe launch services provider. |
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Last week, NextGen Acquisition Corp. II (NASDAQ: NGCA) (“NextGen”) announced the closing of its business combination with Vieco USA, Inc., the parent company of Virgin Orbit (“Virgin Orbit” or the “Company”).
As of the closing of the transaction, which was approved by NextGen stockholders on December 28, 2021, NextGen has changed its name to “Virgin Orbit Holdings, Inc.”
Virgin Orbit began trading December 30, 2021, under the ticker symbols “VORB” and “VORBW”. To celebrate the listing, Virgin Orbit’s senior leadership team and Sir Richard Branson expect to ring the opening bell at the NASDAQ MarketSite this Friday, January 7, 2022.
What a way to ring in the New Year! |
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What a year! As we say often around here: it’s our busiest year yet, but not our busiest to come. Not by a long shot. See you soon. Above the Clouds and beyond. |
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