Virgin Galactic billionaire Richard Branson sued as lawsuit claims he ‘sent faulty rockets into space’

VIRGIN Galactic billionaire Richard Branson has been sued after he allegedly sent “faulty rocket ships” into space. Branson, 71, is being accused of concealing defects in two prototype spaceships and selling off £346m of company stocks while prices were “artificially inflated”, a civil lawsuit by Virgin Galactic shareholders claims. EPARichard Branson has been accused of concealing issues with two of Virgin Galactic’s rocket ships[/caption] APThe spaceship Unity and mothership Eve, which shareholders claim were ‘severely flawed’[/caption] Court documents are said to claim that prototype designs for the Unity spacecraft and Eve mothership sent into space despite were “severely flawed” and were not flightworthy. Virgin Galactic has dismissed the claims. A company spokesperson said: “We believe the allegations are without merit and we stand by the safety of our vehicles. “We will vigorously defend ourselves in the appropriate forum.” Court documents claim the prototypes “were not meant to be taken into the air.” “Rather, they were meant to provide a starting design point for the company to create its own commercial-grade vehicle that was safe and flightworthy – two things Eve and Unity certainly were not,” shareholders claim. The lawsuit alleges the spacecrafts were “not designed for commercial purposes” and had “cracks develop after every flight” and “lacked appropriately scheduled maintenance”. It also claims the rocket Branson used in last year’s lauded space launch suffered damage mid-flight and that “cracks were found in key locations”. It goes on to accuse the company of a covering-up the severe damage done to the USS Unity during a test flight in February 2019. Between April 12 and August 12 last year, the billionaire sold 16 million shares worth £346m while stock prices were “artificially inflated”, the suit alleges. Former Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc chairman Chamath Palihapitiya has also been embroiled in the lawsuit, according to Bloomberg. Branson has sold off more than £760m of Virgin Galactic shares since 2020. Investors have filed the civil lawsuit in the US District Cuurt in the Eastern District of New York. They’re seeking damages from Branson and the company’s directors and management for alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, gross mismanagement, abuse of control, waste of corporate assets, and violations of the Exchange Act. Court documents claim the company faces losing “millions of dollars” fixing structural and design issues with the spacecraft to make them flightworthy. Branson founded Virgin Galactic in 2004 with the aim of blasting paying customer into space by 2009. Some 600 would-be passengers have paid deposits on Branson’s rockets, which are priced at $340k per seat for a flight that lasts up to three hours and a several minutes floating in zero gravity. ReutersThe spaceship Branson used during last year’s launched launch was said to have ‘cracks’[/caption]