Virgin Orbit Holdings, the satellite company of billionaire Richard Branson, has filed for bankruptcy protection.
The company submitted the application for protection under chapter 11 to a court in the state of Delaware in the United States on Tuesday, write CNBC. It is the same process under which SAS applied for protection.
The reason for the tender is that Virgin Orbit Holdings was unable to secure long-term financing after a failed satellite launch in January this year.
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In the application, it is stated that the space company has assets and debts of between 100 and 500 million dollars, corresponding to between 1 and 5 billion Norwegian kroner.
– Although we have made attempts to secure additional funding, we must now do what is best for the company, says director Dan Hart in a statement.
– We believe the ground-breaking launch technology that this team has developed will have broad appeal to buyers, and we are continuing the process of selling the company. Now we believe the chapter 11 process is the best way forward to find and complete a valuable sale.
Last week, Virgin Orbit Holdings chose to lay off around 85 percent of its 750 employees.
The company’s owner, the 72-year-old businessman Richard Branson, has appeared in a number of TV series and films, and according to Forbes a fortune of around 3 billion dollars.
