Virgin Galactic once again delays commercial suborbital operations
Capitalism in space: In releasing its quarterly report, Virgin Galactic yesterday revealed that it is once again delaying the start of commercial suborbital operations, pushing back from the first quarter of 2023 to the second quarter.
In an earnings call, company executives said that the latest delay was not directly related to supply chain and staffing problems it blamed for the previous delay. Instead, refurbishment work on its WhiteKnightTwo plane, VMS Eve, was taking longer than planned. “The driver is around the amount of time it is taking us to accomplish the work scope on Eve,” said Michael Colglazier, chief executive of Virgin Galactic. “We did not plan the full amount of time that’s been needed to get this work accomplished.”
Company officials also said they are shifting its customer emphasis, now focusing much more on “private and government researchers.” Let me translate: The public is not buying tickets, so Virgin Galactic hopes to convince the government to keep it afloat instead.
I predict this company will likely never fly any customers, and it appears the stock agrees, with the stock plunging in value, from $8.25 to $6.95 in less than a day.
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Capitalism in space: In releasing its quarterly report, Virgin Galactic yesterday revealed that it is once again delaying the start of commercial suborbital operations, pushing back from the first quarter of 2023 to the second quarter.
In an earnings call, company executives said that the latest delay was not directly related to supply chain and staffing problems it blamed for the previous delay. Instead, refurbishment work on its WhiteKnightTwo plane, VMS Eve, was taking longer than planned. “The driver is around the amount of time it is taking us to accomplish the work scope on Eve,” said Michael Colglazier, chief executive of Virgin Galactic. “We did not plan the full amount of time that’s been needed to get this work accomplished.”
Company officials also said they are shifting its customer emphasis, now focusing much more on “private and government researchers.” Let me translate: The public is not buying tickets, so Virgin Galactic hopes to convince the government to keep it afloat instead.
I predict this company will likely never fly any customers, and it appears the stock agrees, with the stock plunging in value, from $8.25 to $6.95 in less than a day.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5VZjT0JE70 2) “The public is not buying tickets, so Virgin Galactic hopes to convince the government to keep it afloat instead.” no. No. NO, HECK NO. 3) Why isn’t Branson in jail
I guess they deserve a little credit for being the first private entity to reach “space”.. ( well… Burt does).. and for having the infamous accolade of having the first death in that quest.
It is almost too easy to criticize virgin and Branson for their business model, but they blazed a trail that many others are now following.
Groucho to Fenneman:
“Flap your arms, George!”
Lee S: The only trail The Great Sir Richard blazed with his “business model” was hoodwinking thousands of investors out of their money with a shaky, unscalable point design inherited from Burt Rutan (as you admit). SpaceshipOne was just barely adequate to win the X Prize—when Rutan’s legacy company pulled out of supporting the Virgin adventure, that was a giant red flag. I agree with Col. Beausabre that Branson needs to be prosecuted for pumping and dumping the stock of a company that was never capable of fulfilling its lofty promises, of which Branson was undoubtedly fully aware.
Robert wrote: “Let me translate: The public is not buying tickets, so Virgin Galactic hopes to convince the government to keep it afloat instead.”
The company has been bragging for two decades that they have deposits from more than 600 people. If these customers are not following through with the final purchase, that says something bad.
It gets worse :
http://www.parabolicarc.com/2022/08/04/masterclass-announces-richard-branson-to-teach-disruptive-entrepreneurship/
Who are the idiots running Master Class.
Oh well…next to Stossel getting pimp-slapped, this is my favorite video
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BzuxEyeqri0
Poor Richard…someone up there is sending you a message
https://ktvz.com/money/cnn-business-consumer/2021/07/10/here-are-just-some-of-richard-bransons-near-death-experiences-ahead-of-his-first-space-flight/