What happened Start the countdown. Sometime between 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Thursday, new space initial public offering company Virgin Orbit Holdings (NASDAQ: VORB) will conduct its first space launch as a publicly traded company. Even before that happens, though, Virgin Orbit's own stock has launched into orbit, rising a solid 6% through 12:05 p.m. ET. Image source: Virgin Orbit. So what Virgin Orbit is the most recent of the world's private space companies to go public, having completed its reverse merger into a special purpose acquisition company just late last year. In its brief history as a private company, Virgin Orbit has successfully sent payloads to space -- carried there by rockets launched mid-air from a converted "Cosmic Girl" 747 freighter jet -- twice already. Today's launch, in contrast, will be the first time Virgin Orbit has put its own stock price on the line. Now what Investors seem to be taking success as a given, and are rewarding Virgin Orbit stock beforehand with its 6% price gain. We won't know for certain, though, whether the stock deserves that reward until this afternoon -- and coincidentally, after close of trading for the day. As Space.com reports, Cosmic Girl is due to take off from California's Mojave Air and Space Port no earlier than 4 p.m. ET (close of trading). Assuming the flight is successful, though, Virgin Orbit will deposit seven satellites for three separate customers in orbit this evening. More importantly, it will set the stage for Virgin Orbit's busiest year ever. Over the course of the rest of 2022, Virgin Orbit aims to launch six separate times, including twice from England, demonstrating the international scope of the company's business, and its ability -- almost unique among space companies -- to launch satellites from any point on the globe that has an airport. Do you think that might have an effect on the stock price? I do. 10 stocks we like better than Virgin Orbit Holdings, Inc.When our award-winning analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* They just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Virgin Orbit Holdings, Inc. wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of January 10, 2022 Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source