Virgin Orbit was a promising company that could never find a working business model

Virgin Orbit started as a program of Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic in 2012, before being spun off into a separate company five years later.

In the private space race, Virgin Orbit contended its method of launching its rockets — known as “air launch” — was more flexible than traditional launch pads used by competitors like Rocket Lab, Astra and SpaceX.

The company employed a modified Boeing 747 jet that it called “Cosmic Girl” to carry…