J-space Partners With Virgin Orbit to Bring Sovereign Air-Launch Capability to South Korea
August 09 2022 - 10:12AM
Business Wire
J-Space has contracted Virgin Orbit to develop a South Korean
launch site plan, paving the path for expanded space markets and
new investor opportunities in South Korea and the surrounding
region
Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB), a leading launch provider,
announced today that it has signed an agreement with South Korean
investment group J-Space. The agreement will allow the companies to
assess candidate spaceport launch sites in South Korea, with the
goal of providing satellite launch services from there using Virgin
Orbit’s LauncherOne System. The cooperative effort is designed to
act as a catalyst to the burgeoning Korean small satellite and
space solutions market, stimulate local economic growth, and
provide the South Korean government with a flexible and responsive
launch capability in support of a wide range of mission
applications.
In pursuing its mission to transform the space industry in South
Korea, J-Space looks to leverage Virgin Orbit’s unique mobile
launch system and its capability to offer nations a turnkey small
satellite launch capability that can quickly become fully
operational, thereby satisfying commercial, civil government, and
defense requirements.
Drawing on local expertise and funding by J-Space and on launch
and mission expertise from Virgin Orbit, the partnership will focus
its initial efforts on linking with local South Korean high-tech
industries and formulating end-to-end mission solutions that will
benefit the nation and broader region. The partners aim to develop
a roadmap that will result in launch site identification and
operations, delineate specific investor and business objectives,
and identify key partners in the region. The roadmap will seek to
lay out the steps required to enable the first flights of
LauncherOne to occur from South Korea in as little as 12 -18
months.
“We are pleased to enter into this exclusive agreement with
J-Space to provide launch operations and space services for the
South Korean market,” said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart. “The Korean
space industry has made huge strides in the past few years both in
the commercial and government sectors, with the South Korean
government increasing its space budget by over twenty percent in
the past year alone. We are excited by the growth and partnership
opportunities in the region that could include industrial base
participation in South Korea and look forward to working with the
visionary team at J-Space to expedite a flexible launch solution
from the Korean peninsula in the near-future.”
Bongki Min, J-Space’s CEO, expressed his excitement for the
partnership, noting, “Our work with Virgin Orbit opens the
potential for unparalleled access to space from South Korea,
enabling many of the new space utilization companies in Korea by
providing affordable, flexible, and rapid launch. We want to build
upon and extend the current South Korean space infrastructure,
helping further enhance our role as a global leader in space. Our
relationship with Virgin Orbit provides a key catalyst for that
growth.”
About Virgin Orbit
Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB) operates one of the most flexible
and responsive space launch systems ever built. Founded by Sir
Richard Branson in 2017, the company began commercial service in
2021, and has already delivered commercial, civil, national
security, and international satellites into orbit. Virgin Orbit’s
LauncherOne rockets are designed and manufactured in Long Beach,
California, and are air-launched from a modified 747-400 carrier
aircraft that allows Virgin Orbit to operate from locations all
over the world in order to best serve each customer’s needs. Learn
more at www.virginorbit.com and visit us on LinkedIn, on Twitter
@virginorbit, and on Instagram @virgin.orbit.
About J-Space
J-Space was founded in Jan 2022 to conduct satellite launch and
space related business. Its mission is to provide domestic and
foreign companies with the necessary tools required to compete in
the commercial space industry. J-Space is the premier satellite
launch service targeting the Asian market.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including with
respect to the expected South-Korea-based space activities and
launches. These forward-looking statements generally are identified
by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,”
“estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,”
“may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will
likely result,” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements
are predictions, projections and other statements about future
events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and,
as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors
could cause actual future events to differ materially from the
forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not
limited to the Company’s ability to access sources of capital; its
ability to grow market share in the developing space economy;
market acceptance of its current and planned products and services
and ability to achieve sufficient production volumes, as well as
the factors, risks and uncertainties included in the Company’s
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2022,
as well as in the Company’s subsequent filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), accessible on the SEC’s
website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Information section of the
Company’s website at www.virginorbit.com. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are
cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements,
and Virgin Orbit assumes no obligation and does not intend to
update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Virgin
Orbit gives no assurance that it will achieve its expectations.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220809005753/en/
MEDIA INQUIRIES: press@virginorbit.com Amanda Horn
Amanda.horn@4media-group.com +1-775-636-2567
Virgin Orbit (NASDAQ:VORB)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Virgin Orbit (NASDAQ:VORB)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024