Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday after failing to secure new capital. Last
week the satellite launch company told employees it was ceasing
operations for the foreseeable future and laid off nearly 90% of its
staff.
- Virgin Orbit was founded in 2017 as a spinoff of Branson’s Virgin Galactic space tourism company.
- Branson owns a 75% stake in Virgin Orbit.
- The company has had four successful missions since 2020 and two failed launches.
- Virgin Orbit filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware and is looking to sell its assets.
- Virgin Orbit said it had received a $31.6M commitment from Virgin Investments through debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing.
- Virgin Orbit’s outgoing COO Tony Gingiss called out the company’s leadership in a companywide email apologizing to employees.
