Boeing Joins the Ranks Of Virgin Orbit Investors, Adding $100M to the Startup

Boeing joins the list of Virgin Orbit investors, adding $100 million to Richard Branson’s aerospace company. The latter is the subsidiary of Virgin Galactic, with a distinct focus on launching satellites into orbit.

Where Will the Money from Virgin Orbit Investors Go To?

According to the Surface website, the latest $100-million fund from Boeing will go toward Virgin’s SPAC listing, currently estimated at $3.2 billion. Unlike its mother company Virgin Galactic, focusing on space tourism, Virgin Orbit will deal with satellite launches exclusively. As a reminder, both companies already carried out successful flights, and Richard Branson has already been to the edge of space on board Virgin Galactic spacecraft.

The latest investment put an avionics giant Boeing in the space race, already populated by such notable players as Firefly Aerospace, SpaceX, and RocketLab.

According to the company, Virgin Orbit investors pipeline already reached $4 billion in opportunities. The launch contracts account for $300 million, including $35 million from the US Air Force. In a way, Boeing’s choice of an aerospace startup to support is not surprising because Virgin Orbit uses a modified Boeing plane to lift its LauncherOne system off the ground and release the rocket at 35,000 feet altitude above sea level.

Virgin’s Plans of Going Public

As already mentioned, Boeing acting as one of the Virgin Orbit investors, should help the aerospace company go public. Virgin plans to join the list of Nasdaq by merging with NextGen Acquisition Corp, run by George Mattson.

In the meantime, Boeing does not conceal its interest in space travel. Its website already states that the company is building the future of safe space exploration and deep research of life on Earth. In this light, Boeing acting as one of the Virgin Orbit investors is the logical continuation of the course already taken by the company.