Peter Beck and Sir Richard Branson. Photo: Rocket Lab / Supplied / AFP
Rocket Lab is buying some of Virgin Orbit's assets to help speed up production of its Neutron rocket.
The $16.1 million purchase included the lease to one of its Long Beach, California facilities and critical manufacturing infrastructure.
The conditional deal did not include the purchase of Virgin Orbit's Boeing 747 aircraft, launch vehicles or mobile launch assets for its rockets, or other Virgin Orbit facilities, inventory and assets, which were subject to bankruptcy action.
The company, founded by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, has ended operations after a major mission failure earlier this year - the first ever attempt from UK soil.
Virgin Orbit was valued at several billion dollars in 2021, but its assets have been sold for a total of just NZ$59m, BBC reported on Wednesday. Its 'Cosmic Girl' converted 747 jet was sold to Stratolaunch, and its launch site and lease in the Mojave Desert went to Launcher for just a few million dollars.
Rocket Lab chief executive and founder Peter Beck said the investment added to Rocket Lab's existing presence in Long Beach, and provided engineering, manufacturing and test capabilities for the Neutron project.
"Rocket Lab is a global industry leader in launch, and our new, larger rocket Neutron will bring added reliability, reusability, and innovation to the launch sector.
"With Neutron's design and development well-advanced, this transaction represents a capital expenditure savings opportunity to augment our production capability to bring Neutron to the launch pad quickly to serve our customers and their future success.
"Securing the lease to the Conant Facility adds to our existing presence in Long Beach and provides co-located engineering, manufacturing, and test capabilities for our Neutron team."
The deal was subject to approval by US authorities.
Rocket Lab has two launch sites, one of them in the US and the other in Mahia, on the east coast of the North Island.