Virgin Orbit, the aerospace company of well-known British businessman and billionaire Richard Branson, is suspending operations and laying off the vast majority of its staff.
Virgin Orbit is in financial trouble following the failed launch of a space rocket from Western Europe earlier this year.
Virgin Orbit was looking for money to be able to continue its activities, but in vain. The Long Beach (California) company is cutting 675 jobs, or 85 percent of its staff. The other employees will work on the gradual cessation of activities. The price of Virgin Orbit has therefore fallen sharply on the New York Stock Exchange.
In January, the company had attempted a first launch of a space rocket with satellites from Western Europe, but the mission failed. The rocket was launched by an adapted Boeing 747, dubbed Cosmic Girl, which had taken off from the southwest of England.
Over the Atlantic Ocean, the Cosmic Girl dropped the rocket, called LauncherOne, at an altitude of just over 10 kilometers. But putting the nine-satellite rocket into Earth orbit failed. These have been lost. The Cosmic Girl aircraft then returned safely to Cornwall Airport.
