"Virgin Orbit Holdings, Inc. and its U.S. subsidiaries, (the 'Company' or 'Virgin Orbit'), a responsive space launch provider, announced today that it commenced a voluntary proceeding under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code ("Chapter 11") in the United States Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware in order to effectuate a sale of the business," the company said in a statement.
Virgin Investments Limited will allocate $31.6 million in debtor-in-possession financing to help the space company fund the process and protect Virgin Orbit operations. Once the court approves the bankruptcy case, this financing will provide Virgin Orbit with the liquidity it needs to keep on with its operations, since the company will continue its pre-petition process to sell the business.
Virgin Orbit was established in 2017 and began commercial services in 2021. The company provided launch services for small satellites, as well as delivered commercial, civil, national and international satellites into orbit.
In January, Virgin Orbit conducted a launch of the LauncherOne carrier-rocket deployed from a Boeing 747 aircraft, but it failed to reach orbit due to the premature shutdown of the second stage engine. The mission was supposed to be the first ever launch of satellites from the United Kingdom. Western media labeled the mission failure a major blow not only to the United Kingdom, but also to Virgin Orbit and seven other companies, whose satellites were to be put into orbit.
In mid-March, Virgin Orbit furloughed nearly all its employees and halted operations for a week in search of a funding lifeline. Last week, the company decided to cease operations and lay off almost all of its workforce after a failed attempt to secure the funding.