Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit Holdings, based in California, announced Tuesday that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US and was looking for a buyer for its assets.
Founded in 2017, the company has had six missions since 2020, four of which were successful. Earlier this year, a Virgin Orbit rocket failed to complete its first-ever satellite launch from UK soil when a technical problem during the launch caused the rocket to crash into the ocean.
According to a regulatory filing on Monday, Virgin Orbit had been suffering financial problems even before the failed satellite launch. The company said it had not “generated positive cash flows from [its] operations’” as of December 31, 2022.
Orbital flight
On July 13th 2021, Richard Branson made a historic flight using a rocket he helped build.
Branson’s space flight cost about $1.5 billion (Approx Sh200 billion)
“We’re here to make space more accessible to all,” an exuberant Branson, 70, said shortly after embracing his grandchildren following the flight. “Welcome to the dawn of a new space age.”
Kenyan Business Feed is the top Kenyan Business Blog. We share news from Kenya and across the region. To contact us with any alert, please email us to [email protected]