Editor’s Note, Sept. 26: 2021: Story updated to reflect that Richard Branson began selling $300 million worth of Virgin Galactic shares on Aug. 10 the day before the FAA notified the company of a mishap during the July flight that carried the billionaire to space. The sale continued through Aug. 12.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Analysts at Bank of America who cover Virgin Galactic’s publicly-traded stock are not amused by the company’s failure to disclose that a SpaceShipTwo suborbital flight carrying founder Richard Branson flew outside of its assigned airspace on July 11, resulting in an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the grounding of the company’s only operational space plane.

“Point blank, in our view, it is unacceptable to have an event during a flight that, per FAA regulations, is considered a mishap and then claim that the mission was a full success,” analyst Ronald Epstein wrote in a note to investors. “The old adage, it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, generally is a poor strategy in aviation.”

• Capital will accelerate growth of workforce and development of world’s first commercial space station
• NASA selected Axiom to begin attaching its privately developed space station modules to the International Space Station as early as 2024
• Axiom recently revealed the first-ever private astronaut ISS crew, launching in January 2022

HOUSTON, TX, February 16, 2021 — Axiom Space, Inc., which is developing the world’s first commercial space station, has raised $130M in Series B funding. The round was led by C5 Capital and includes TQS Advisors, Declaration Partners (the investment firm backed by David M. Rubenstein), Moelis Dynasty Investments, Washington University in St. Louis, The Venture Collective, Aidenlair Capital, Hemisphere Ventures, and Starbridge Venture Capital.

SpaceX is seeking a leveraged loan of $750 million in an effort being led by Bank of America, Bloomberg reports. Bloomberg had earlier reported that Goldman Sachs was leading an effort to obtain $500 million in financing for Elon Musk’s company. The reason for the change was not reported.