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I don't know about Virgin Orbit, but isn't Virgin Galactic actively testing their aircraft for space flights? [1] I think it's a bit of a stretch to either call

I don't know about Virgin Orbit, but isn't Virgin Galactic actively testing their aircraft for space flights? [1] I think it's a bit of a stretch to either call them a scam or argue that they didn't achieve much. This area has so many regulations it takes decades to innovate and go from idea to market. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceShipTwo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceShipTwo

nickik 6y ago
They are suborbital, while this is certainty an achievement its also far more limited in value and market. They have existed for a very, very long time. They have done the first test flights a long time ago now and have for years promised to be operational. The problem is this, the amount of money they are spending is essentially impossible to make back with suborbital tourism, even if NASA helps them out with some extra flights. The have a large team and they have burned threw 100s of millions to get to this point and there is still no clear schedule. The continue to make flashy media events showing of seats and designs and so on. At the same time, their public stock price is incredibly high. To get it there, they seem to imply that they are gone develop hypersonic transport. Hypersonic transport is much, much, much harder then what they are doing so far, and they have struggled mightily for a long time to even get the engine to the point where it is now.