Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Billionaire's Rocket Launch Company Seeks Bankruptcy Protection After Mission Failure
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
April 4, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after a failed mission this year and increasing difficulty in raising funding for future missions.

The company laid off most of its staff on Friday and told the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in a filing Monday that it was looking to sell its assets.

Virgin Orbit said that it has secured $31.6 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Branson’s Virgin Investments Ltd.

Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said that once the financing is approved by the bankruptcy court, the funds are expected to provide Virgin Orbit with the necessary liquidity to continue operating as it attempts to sell the company.

“While we have taken great efforts to address our financial position and secure additional financing, we ultimately must do what is best for the business,” Hart said.

The Long Beach, California, company said in its bankruptcy filing that it has between 200 and 999 estimated creditors. It had approximately $243 million in total assets and $153.5 million in total liabilities as of Sept. 30, according to a regulatory filing.

Last week Virgin Orbit said that it was cutting 675 jobs, about 85% of its workforce. Shortly before the announcement, the company said that it was pausing all operations amid reports of possible job cuts. At the time Virgin Orbit confirmed that it was putting all work on hold, but didn’t say for how long.

In January, a mission by Virgin Orbit to launch the first satellites into orbit from Europe failed after a rocket’s upper stage prematurely shut down. It was a setback in the United Kingdom which had hoped that the launch from Cornwall in southwest England would mark the beginning of more commercial opportunities for the U.K. space industry.

The company said in February that an investigation found that its rocket’s fuel filter had become dislodged, causing an engine to become overheated and other components to malfunction over the Atlantic Ocean.

Virgin Orbit, which is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, was founded in 2017 by British billionaire Branson to target the market for launching small satellites into space. Its LauncherOne rockets are launched from the air from modified Virgin passenger planes, allowing the company to operate more flexibly than using fixed launch sites.

Shares of Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc., which traded above $10 about two years ago, tumbled 24% before the opening bell Tuesday, to about 15 cents.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Director of ‘2000 Mules’ Acknowledges the Conspiratorial Film Was Flawed

DON'T MISS

Visalia’s Keira Bixler Hopes Passion for Literacy Will Help Land Miss America’s Teen Title

DON'T MISS

Ex-Kansas Police Detective Found Dead on First Day of His Trial

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Man in Stolen Vehicle After Foot Chase, Seize Body Armor and Handgun

DON'T MISS

Community Health Wastes No Time Finding a New CEO

DON'T MISS

Check Out Santa’s List of Christmas Events in Fresno

DON'T MISS

Westlands Voters Back Board Incumbents to Handle Ag’s Big Challenges

DON'T MISS

MSNBC Hits Two-Decade Ratings Low Amid Trump Victory and Network Turmoil

DON'T MISS

Democrats Frustrated Over Joe Biden Reversing Course and Pardoning His Son

DON'T MISS

Killer Escapes in Delano. Residents Urged to Be Vigilant.

UP NEXT

Hezbollah Fires at an Israeli-Held Border Zone, the Group’s First Strike Since a Ceasefire Began

UP NEXT

More Than 3 Million Travelers Screened at US Airports in a Single Day. That’s a Record

UP NEXT

UN Halts Aid Shipments Through Gaza’s Main Crossing After Looting, Blaming Israel

UP NEXT

Heavy Snow Blankets Parts of the US During Busy Holiday Travel Weekend

UP NEXT

Israeli Strike in Gaza Kills World Central Kitchen Workers, Israel Says 1 Was an Oct. 7 Attacker

UP NEXT

Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau Flies to Florida to Meet With Trump After Tariffs Threat

UP NEXT

Young Men Swung to the Right for Trump After a Campaign Dominated by Masculine Appeals

UP NEXT

Trump Threatens 100% Tariff on the BRIC Bloc of Nations if They Act to Undermine US Dollar

UP NEXT

Family Returns to Lebanon to Find a Crater Where Their 50-Year-Old Home Once Stood

UP NEXT

Mexican President Says She Is Confident That a Tariff War With the US Can Be Averted

Fresno Police Arrest Man in Stolen Vehicle After Foot Chase, Seize Body Armor and Handgun

13 hours ago

Community Health Wastes No Time Finding a New CEO

13 hours ago

Check Out Santa’s List of Christmas Events in Fresno

13 hours ago

Westlands Voters Back Board Incumbents to Handle Ag’s Big Challenges

14 hours ago

MSNBC Hits Two-Decade Ratings Low Amid Trump Victory and Network Turmoil

15 hours ago

Democrats Frustrated Over Joe Biden Reversing Course and Pardoning His Son

15 hours ago

Killer Escapes in Delano. Residents Urged to Be Vigilant.

15 hours ago

Kash Patel’s Threat to the Rule of Law

16 hours ago

Top Democrats Vow to Make California Affordable Again

16 hours ago

This Disgraceful Pardon Is President Biden’s Final Feeble Act

17 hours ago

Director of ‘2000 Mules’ Acknowledges the Conspiratorial Film Was Flawed

More than two years after the widely debunked film “2000 Mules” poured gasoline on right-wing conspiracy theories about election fraud, the ...

35 minutes ago

Dinesh D’Souza has acknowledged that the findings in his film "2000 Mules," which claimed widespread election fraud, were based on faulty analysis, though he still maintains the film's core premise is accurate. (IMDb)
35 minutes ago

Director of ‘2000 Mules’ Acknowledges the Conspiratorial Film Was Flawed

11 hours ago

Visalia’s Keira Bixler Hopes Passion for Literacy Will Help Land Miss America’s Teen Title

Photo of caution tape
12 hours ago

Ex-Kansas Police Detective Found Dead on First Day of His Trial

Fresno Police arrested Eduardo Ochoa, 30, on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, after he fled from a stolen vehicle while wearing body armor and carrying a firearm. (Fresno PD)
13 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Man in Stolen Vehicle After Foot Chase, Seize Body Armor and Handgun

13 hours ago

Community Health Wastes No Time Finding a New CEO

13 hours ago

Check Out Santa’s List of Christmas Events in Fresno

14 hours ago

Westlands Voters Back Board Incumbents to Handle Ag’s Big Challenges

MSNBC recorded its lowest non-holiday ratings in two decades among key viewers, facing steep declines and mounting controversies post-Trump victory. (Shutterstock)
15 hours ago

MSNBC Hits Two-Decade Ratings Low Amid Trump Victory and Network Turmoil

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend