Virgin Orbit Files For Bankruptcy In United States

Virgin Orbit, the rocket company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States.

The California-based company announced on Monday that it will continue doing business while it restructures its debts.

Despite making great efforts to address its financial position and secure additional financing, the company could not continue without declaring bankruptcy.

Dan Hart, the chief executive of Virgin Orbit, said in a statement posted on its website that the company’s “cutting-edge launch technology” would have “wide appeal to buyers as we continue in the process to sell the company.”

Virgin Investments, a sister company of Virgin Orbit, has announced a $31.6 million injection into the satellite launcher to help it stay afloat while it searches for a new owner.

However, Virgin Orbit had recently laid off about 85% of its workforce to reduce expenses as it could not secure additional funding.

The company was founded in 2017 to make small rockets, called LauncherOne, that can deliver lightweight satellites to orbit quickly and cheaply.

The rockets take off from modified Boeing 747 planes. Virgin Orbit is one of several companies, including Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, that has attempted to commercialize satellite launching.

Virgin Orbit encountered trouble in January when one of its rockets failed to make it to orbit due to an overheated engine.

It was the company’s first attempt to launch a satellite from UK soil, and it had completed four previous successful launches from California.