Tuesday, February 2 Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 2.1bPayload: Lotus S-1 signal intelligence satelliteLaunch Time: 3:45 a.m. EST (2045 UTC)Launch Site: Plesetsk Cosmodrome NET Tuesday, February 2 Launch Vehicle: SpaceX Starship SN9Mission: Flight TestLaunch Time: TBDLaunch Site: Boca Chica, Texas Flight date depends upon completion of review and the issuing of a launch license by Federal Aviation Administration. Wednesday, February 3 Launch Vehicle: Falcon 9Payloads: 60 Starlink broadband satellitesLaunch Time: 5:57 a.m. […]
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“VSS Eve”
WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo take off at 7:11 a.m. PST from the Mojave Air and Space Port. (Credit: Kenneth Brown)
NMPolitics.net is reporting that there were about 40 layoffs from Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company earlier this month as they prepare to begin commercial flights from Spaceport America in New Mexico.
A Virgin Galactic spokesman confirmed the layoffs in a statement via email.
Recently we separated a small number of our team in order to position our organization for the drive to commercial operations following our successful recent spaceflight, and make room for new skill sets that we need to bring in over the course of this year. In total we separated around 40 people, less than 5% of our total workforce across Virgin Galactic and TSC. We are offering support to those impacted and sincerely thank them for their contributions, and wish them well for the future.
The news comes on the heels of a decision by SpaceX to lay off about 10 percent of its roughly 6,000 employees. Stratolaunch, which like Virgin Galactic is based in Mojave, announced last week that it was laying off about 50 employees as it down scaled plans for boosters to air launch from its massive aircraft.