It’s best known for its rockets and satellites, but now Virgin Orbit has turned its attention to the coronavirus pandemic.
The firm, which was founded by Sir Richard Branson, is developing a new ventilator to help in the fight against COVID-19.
Virgin Orbit explained: “On a normal day, we’re building rockets and other equipment for space launch; we are not medical doctors nor are we usually manufacturers of medical devices.
“But we do have a team of incredibly innovative and agile thinkers — experts in designing, fabricating, programming, testing — who are eager to lend a hand.”
The Virgin Orbit team is consulting with the Bridge Ventilator Consortium (BVC), led by the University of California Irvine (UCI) and the University of Texas at Austin to develop its bridge ventilator.
Dr Brian Wong, from UCI, explained: “We face a slow-motion Dunkirk, and getting ventilators out there is very important to save lives.
“The demand outstrips supply, so it is important the government, industry, academia, non-profits, and the community work together to identify solutions, and design and construct them as fast as possible.”
The designers took rapid scaling into account from the beginning of the design process, taking advantage of Virgin Orbit’s robust assembly process.
Virgin Orbit claims that the finished product will be ready in early April, and could quickly enter mass production.
Dan Hart, CEO at Virgin Orbit, said: “We are all heartbroken each night as we turn on the news and see the predicament facing doctors and nurses as they heroically work to save lives.
“I have never seen our team working harder. Never seen ideas moving quicker from design to prototype. We are hopeful that this device can help as we all prepare for the challenges ahead.”
