Virgin Orbit (NASDAQ: VORB) shares hesitated out of the starting blocks Tuesday. The company was recognized by the Performance Review Institute, certifying it as having met stringent international standards. This achievement promotes Virgin Orbit’s ongoing commitment to satisfying stakeholders, and the Company’s dedication to continual improvement of its quality management system.
The globally recognized AS9100 standard builds upon the ISO 9000 family of quality management systems, incorporating critical requirements established by the aerospace industry.
These combined factors collectively satisfy U.S. Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Federal Aviation Administration quality requirements.
“With 33 satellites delivered to space and each positioned precisely in their chosen orbit, we have shown the capability and quality of our launch system,” said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart.
“Our focus now is building on that track record even as we scale up production at our factory and as we bring our launch operations to new facilities like Spaceport Cornwall. Through this AS9100 certification we’ve formalized and tested our system to ensure our customers can trust us to deliver their satellites safely and precisely to the orbit they need.”
The AS9100 certification was announced after PRI conducted audits at all Virgin Orbit sites, including the Company’s global headquarters and payload processing facilities located in Long Beach, California and at the Mojave Air and Space Port. The scope of the audit included a review of the Company’s design, development, production, testing, and launch of its LauncherOne orbital space launch system.
VORB shares handed back three cents to $4.20.
