According to the Financial Times, Branson has injected just under £9m to cover the severance costs of letting go of 675 staff, leaving just 100 employees remaining to keep the company going on a skeleton crew.
The move comes only weeks after the firm was reported to be seeking a potential buyout from outside investors.
In December, Virgin Orbit was awarded a licence by the Civil Aviation Authority to operate the UK’s first space launch from Spaceport Cornwall at Cornwall Airport Newquay. But the following month’s launch failed spectacularly due to a dislodged fuel filter that caused the engine to overheat.
The Start Me Up mission had been hailed as “historic”, and was set to open the door for satellite launches in the UK.
Satellite industry representatives subsequently told MPs that “seismic change” would be needed to boost the appeal of launches from British soil due to the failure of the launch.
Dan Hart, chief executive of Virgin Orbit, is still seeking...