Richard Branson’s start-up Virgin Orbit files for bankruptcy

British billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday, just days after announcing layoffs affecting 85% of its staff.

Less than two years back, the California-based company went public at a ~$3 billion valuation.

As of September 30, the satellite launching business listed assets roughly worth $243 million and its debt at $153.5 million in a September filing.

CEO Dan Hart believes the bankruptcy process “represents the best path forward to identify and finalize an efficient and value-maximizing sale.”

Failure to launch
Back in January, Virgin Orbit had a very public mission failure and struggled to raise funds.

Similar to fellow billionaires Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit focused on launching commercial and military satellites into space from its modified Boeing 747 planes.