Virgin Orbit Names Aerospace Veteran Tony Gingiss Its First COO

Francesca Billington

Francesca Billington is a freelance reporter. Prior to that, she was a general assignment reporter for dot.LA and has also reported for KCRW, the Santa Monica Daily Press and local publications in New Jersey. She graduated from Princeton in 2019 with a degree in anthropology.

Tony Gingiss

Long-time aerospace executive Tony Gingiss will be Virgin Orbit's first chief operating officer, the satellite launch company announced Wednesday.

The former CEO of OneWeb Satellites will oversee daily operations at Virgin's Long Beach manufacturing facility, where the company built its LauncherOne, which successfully placed satellites into orbit last month.


Before his time at OneWeb, Gingiss held a number of roles across business strategy, engineering and communications at Boeing Satellites System in El Segundo. He's worked in aerospace design, production and operations for over 30 years.

"His leadership, insight, and experience will be a huge asset to us as we take the next step in our journey from a team focused on R&D to a launch company focused on serving our customers," said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart in a statement.

The company said it's already integrating its next batch of rockets at its production facility. And last month, it announced a deal to launch the Dutch Ministry of Defense's first satellite later this year.
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Why Women’s Purchasing Power Is a Huge Advantage for Female-Led Leagues

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Why Women’s Purchasing Power Is a Huge Advantage for Female-Led Leagues
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Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

LA Tech Week: How These Six Greentech Startups Are Tackling Major Climate Issues
Samson Amore

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The event sponsored by Lowercarbon, Climate Draft (and the defunct Silicon Valley Bank’s Climate Technology & Sustainability team) brought together a handful of local startups in Hawthorne not far from LAX, and many of the companies shared DNA with arguably the region’s most famous tech resident: SpaceX.

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