Virgin Orbit’s carrier aircraft Cosmic Girl takes off from Mojave Air and Space Port with LauncherOne underwing for the Tubular Bells: Part One mission on June 30, 2021. Photo: Virgin Orbit.

Virgin Orbit is set to go public after shareholders of NextGen Acquisition Corp. II approved the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger on Dec. 28. 

This is the culmination of the SPAC deal that the smallsat launcher announced in August. The deal values the company at $3.2 billion. 

Virgin Orbit will come away with approximately $228 million in gross proceeds, including $68 million from trust proceeds and $160 million from a fully committed PIPE. This is substantially less than what Virgin Orbit projected it would take away. When the deal was announced, Virgin Orbit expected the merger to provide $483 million in proceeds, including a $100 million PIPE. This points to a large number of redemptions by SPAC shareholders. 

92% of the votes cast were to approve the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of December. Virgin Orbit will begin trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “VORB”. Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Orbit executives plan to ring the opening bell at the NASDAQ on Jan. 7.

“Virgin Orbit is well positioned to continue revolutionizing satellite launch and building unrivalled space technology that we believe will positively change the world. With a diverse and global customer base, it is the only launch company that can go anytime, from anywhere, to any orbit,” Branson commented. 

Virgin Orbit is preparing for its third launch in January — Above the Clouds — serving the U.S. Department of Defense, SatRevolution, and Spire.