Virgin Orbit, the space launch company founded by Richard Branson, has taken a stake in Horizon Technologies, a British maritime intelligence company.
Virgin Orbit, which plans to go public through a merger with NextGen Acquisition Corp. II (Nasdaq: NGCA), didn’t disclose the size of its stake in Horizon.
Under the deal’s terms, Virgin Orbit will become Horizon’s preferred launch partner and appoint a representative to Horizon’s board.
Horizon currently plans to take advantage of the ability of Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rockets to reach tailored orbits for at least five launches. The rockets, which are manufactured in Long Beach, California, are air-launched from a modified 747-400 carrier aircraft that allows Virgin Orbit to operate from locations all over the world.
Virgin Orbit said Horizon is an established leader in airborne systems through its FlyingFish and BlackFish products, which are in operation on numerous aircrafts worldwide for customers including NATO and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.
Horizon is expanding its space-based marine intelligence services with the planned launch the first of its AMBER commercial SIGINT CubeSats. Applications for the system will include monitoring for detection of "dark target” detection, detection of illegal activity, piracy, smuggling, illegal fishing, transshipments and terrorism. Horizon plans to continue to build out the AMBER constellation and its related services by conducting further launches onboard Virgin Orbit’s mobile LauncherOne system.
“With this agreement with Horizon we continue to turn vision into reality for our customers looking to better build out their businesses and serve life here on Earth,” Virgin Orbit Chief Executive Dan Hart said in a statement. “With systems already known to help combat everything from illegal fishing to smuggling and trafficking, we are excited to partner with Horizon Technologies as we further our mission of opening space for good.”
“Our plan to be the world’s leading provider of maritime intelligence provides synergy with Virgin Orbit’s broader space solutions strategy,” said Horizon CEO John Beckner. “As a U.K. SME, with strong support from the U.K. government and, in particular, the Royal Navy as our lead customer, this agreement aligns perfectly with both companies’ goals for the future, and for the benefit for the planet.”
Virgin Orbit has recently announced a series of strategic investments in the growth of its Space Solutions business, including with satellite imaging providers HyperSat as well as SatRevolution, which will also fly as a repeat customer on the company’s next mission. Virgin Orbit plans to complete its next scheduled launch in January 2022.
