Major Richard Branson update as billionaire reveals Virgin Orbit rocket plans

RICHARD Branson's rocket company Virgin Orbit has filed for bankruptcy after failing to secure new investment.

The satellite company, which announced only last week it would be cutting 85 per cent of its workforce, has been unable to raise additional funding.

The business filed for bankruptcy with the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Tuesday, April 4.

It comes after a Virgin Orbit rocket failed to complete the first-ever satellite launch from UK soil earlier this year.

The business, which is based in California, was founded in 2017 and is a spin-off of Sir Richard's space tourism firm Virgin Galactic.

The company paused all operations in March after facing significant financial pressures.

Sir Richard's Virgin Investments business funnelled around £35million into Virgin Orbit over recent weeks in a desperate bid to save the company.

In total, the billionaire and his Virgin Group invested more than £809million in the business which sent satellites into space by launching rockets from beneath modified Boeing 747s.

Virgin Orbit chief executive Dan Hart said: "The team at Virgin Orbit has developed and brought into operation a new and innovative method of launching satellites into orbit, introducing new technology and managing great challenges and great risks along the way as we proved the system and performed several successful space flights, including successfully launching 33 satellites into their precise orbit.

"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.

"We believe that the cutting-edge launch technology that this team has created will have wide appeal to buyers as we continue in the process to sell the company.

"At this stage, we believe that the Chapter 11 process represents the best path forward to identify and finalize an efficient and value-maximising sale."