Richard Branson’s rocket company Virgin Orbit to begin mass producing ventilators

“Usually we’re working on rocket engines and launch systems that take satellites to orbit. But with the looming COVID-19 crisis, we reached out to [California] Governor Newsom and asked ‘what can we do to help?’” [CEO Dan] Hart said. Newsom connected Virgin Orbit with doctors and engineers at University of California Irvine and University of Texas in Austin, who Hart said “we’re working on a concept to make a simple ventilator.” The goal was to develop and ventilator that could be built quickly and mass produced.