Virgin Orbit, the space company of British billionaire Richard Branson, has filed for bankruptcy in the United States. The California-based company announced a few days ago the layoff of 85 percent of its 750 employees and announced that it would cease operations shortly, explaining that it was unable to obtain new financing.
Virgin Orbit was founded in 2017 as a division of Virgin Galactic, another Branson company dedicated to space tourism. In six years of existence, it had developed an alternative solution to space launches, carried out with rockets that start from the ground, and last January it had made the first attempt to transport a satellite into orbit, but the mission had been a failure.
Virgin Orbit said on Tuesday that Virgin Investments, another Branson group company, will provide it with $31.6 million (€29 million) to defray the company’s expenses as it searches for a new buyer.
– Read also: Virgin Orbit’s Big Trouble
