Richard Branson's space company Virgin Orbit declares bankruptcy

Billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit satellite launcher has filed for bankruptcy in the US. This happened after she failed to find funding to continue her work, writes The Guardian.

Amid this news, the company's shares fell more than 23% to $0.14.

A week ago, Virgin Orbit announced the layoff of 85% of its employees, leaving about 100 people in the state.

“Despite the fact that we have made great efforts to improve our financial situation and secure additional funding, ultimately we must do what is best for the business,” CEO Dan Hart said, commenting on the bankruptcy decision.

Virgin Orbit was founded in 2017, spun off from another Branson company, Virgin Galactic. The billionaire remained its largest shareholder with a 75% stake. The second largest share (18%) belongs to the United Arab Emirates sovereign wealth fund Mubadala.

CNBC reported that the company had to raise funds because Branson no longer wanted to finance it. The Guardian notes that over the past few months, Branson has invested about $70 million to maintain Virgin Orbit.

• In January 2023, Virgin Orbit carried out the first ever launch of a spacecraft into orbit from UK soil. The mission ended in failure. The modified Boeing 747 launched the LauncherOne, but it did not reach orbit. It was supposed to launch nine satellites into orbit for the benefit of private companies and government agencies. As the investigation showed , the damaged fuel filter became the cause of the unsuccessful launch.