Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

On May 8, Virgin Galactic (Virgin Galactic) sent its founder Richard Branson and three other crew members to the edge of space with great fanfare as early as July 2021. However, it took nearly two years for the company to complete its latest test flight at the end of last month. During this time, Virgin Galactic has encountered numerous challenges.

Virgin Galactic's share price has fallen by more than 90% since Branson's space trip. Analysts expect the company to lose more than $575 million this year. Both Branson and Virgin Galactic are defending a shareholder lawsuit. The entrepreneur has sold nearly 75 per cent of his stake in the company in recent years, according to regulatory filings.

In 2019, Virgin Galactic said it expected about 23 space trips a month in 2023. However, the company now aims to launch commercial services by the end of June and then fly once a month.

"I wanted to fly 15 years ago," Branson said in an interview last year. " He had predicted several launch dates, but then stopped because "something always happens".

Another space company backed by Branson, small satellite launch company Virgin orbit (Virgin Orbit), declared bankruptcy last month because of a failed mission and increasing market competition. A Virgin spokeswoman didn't respond to a request for comment.

Although Virgin Galactic has been established for nearly 20 years, it has not yet shown the ability to regularly transport paying customers into space. Over the years, the company has struggled to cope with technical challenges and a slow accident investigation.

Virgin Galactic generated a total of $12.5 million in revenue from 2018 to 2022, but an operating loss of $1.5 billion, according to financial statements. The company plans to report quarterly results on Tuesday.

Michael Colglazier, chief executive of Virgin Galactic, told investors in February that the company had taken steps to increase revenue and profits over time. Last year, the company signed an agreement to buy more aircraft and assemble spaceships to fly once a week.

"We plan to use our existing fleet to provide regular and repetitive space travel to showcase the shocking experience of our products," Colgrazil said at the time. The company declined to comment.

Virgin Galactic reportedly had the equivalent of $980 million in cash by the end of 2022, but said it expected at least $135 million in cash outflows in the first three months of this year. Executives have said they may slow investment, including in the development of new spacecraft, if necessary.

Virgin Galactic uses custom planes to transport the spacecraft to an altitude of about 50, 000 feet (15000 meters), and then separates the ship from the plane, sending passengers into suborbital space alone.

Delays and technical challenges are common in aerospace. Virgin Galactic's rival Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, said it had not sent anyone to the edge of space since an engine failure in an unmanned mission last September. But a spokesman said the company expected to resume flights soon.

Andrew Aldrin (Andrew Aldrin), an associate professor at Ambry-Riddell Aeronautical University (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University), used to work for the rocket company United launch Alliance. Virgin Galactic faces an unusually long challenge in preparing carrier rockets, he said. "they really have to prove that they can stay operational and profitable," he said. "

In 2004, Branson's Virgin Group founded Virgin Galaxy to achieve conventional manned spaceflight. For decades before that, manned spaceflight had always been an area dominated by government agencies. However, Virgin Galactic encountered many problems in the process of developing the spacecraft. In 2013, engine testing led to the Big Bang. The following year, during a test flight by an outside company, a spaceship disintegrated and crashed, killing the co-pilot.

After the tragedy, Virgin Galactic said it was cooperating with relevant agencies to investigate what happened. The company said in 2015 that it had modified a system on the ship to allow it to glide and land and conducted an internal safety review. Virgin Galactic's current spaceship, VSS Unity, did not fly into space until 2018 and received a full commercial launch license in June 2021.

Then in July, Branson and Bezos took part in space flights to promote their respective companies' space tourism projects. These flights herald the coming of a new business in which they can sell space travel tickets to the public.

However, Branson's ship did not fly as planned when it descended, leading the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to oversee an investigation in August 2021. Virgin Galactic said the strong winds affected the ship's trajectory, the pilot made an appropriate response, and the crew or passengers were never in danger.

The survey was completed at the end of September 2021. Virgin Galactic said it would designate more protected airspace for future flights and maintain communication with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during the mission. Although Virgin Galactic was allowed to fly again, the company delayed its flight in October 2021 and began upgrading its aircraft and spacecraft, which was only recently completed.

After Branson completed his space flight, many investors sold Virgin Galactic. Virgin Galactic shares hit an all-time high of $52.69 three days before he reached the edge of space. Since then, however, the company's trading price has plummeted, to about $3.50 at the beginning of May.

Branson has cut back on support for Virgin Galactic. By the end of 2021, the shareholdings of entities controlled by him had fallen to about 12 per cent from 59 per cent about two years ago, according to regulatory filings.

In addition, Virgin Galactic faces legal challenges from a number of shareholders. The shareholders claimed that Branson and the company made false statements about spaceship development and other matters, and sold the shares at inflated prices. In February 2022, lawyers for Branson and Virgin Galactic filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit seeking class action status and claims. They said the plaintiffs did not prove that Branson had access to non-public information that contradicted his statements and that there were no anomalies in the stock sales process.

Many potential customers missed the flight opportunity at Virgin Galactic. Daniel Daniel Hardin, a retired outdoor advertising executive, said he returned his Virgin Galactic ticket booked 11 years ago and received a refund in 2018. He said he dropped out for medical reasons, otherwise he would probably still be on the waiting list.

Harding added: "when I started working on this project, I hoped to see the first customers go into space within five years. Unfortunately, it took longer."

Virgin Galactic executives confirmed that a number of customers were dropped from the waiting list last year, but these vacancies are usually filled quickly. By the end of 2022, Virgin Galactic said it had about 800 reservations. Virgin Galactic's ticket price per seat has remained at $450000 since it opened.

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