Virgin Orbit, the satellite launch company founded by the billionaire Sir Richard Branson, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US after last-ditch efforts to find funding for the struggling space firm fell through.

It comes less than a week after the company announced it was cutting 85% of its workforce, leaving roughly 100 employees to run what was left of the business. The California-based firm will seek a buyer for its assets.

The satellite launch company was formed as part of space tourism business Virgin Galactic, which transported Branson into sub-orbital flight in 2021 nine days ahead of his billionaire rival, the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Virgin Orbit spun out on its own from Galactic in 2017, and in late 2021 rode a wave of investor enthusiasm in a merger with a cash shell that listed its shares on New York's Nasdaq stock exchange.