The company was selling off items it owns in a bid to survive, including its converted jet Cosmic Girl, and most of its headquarters in California.
It was hoped the launch, called Start Me Up after the Rolling Stones hit in 1981, would turn the country into a global player, from manufacturing satellites to building rockets and creating new spaceports.
Two months later, the company paused all operations in an apparent attempt to shore up its finances and almost all employees were laid off.
He said that there was a time when I thought we were going to lose everything. However, it has managed to maintain his billionaire status - he has a net worth of 2.4 bn according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List.
Rocket Lab, a start-up, has acquired most of Virgin Orbit's headquarters in California as well as other assets. The company has also sold off its Boeing 747 plane, which was converted to help launch satellites. In total, the assets sold fetched $36.4 m 29.4 m. So much was riding on Virgin Orbit's rocket launch from Cornwall in January, it was supposed to be a spectacular start to a new industry in the UK.
But the dislodging of a small component - a fuel filter - had a domino effect. The rocket failed, confidence lost in Virgin Orbit and now Virgin Orbit has been sold off, piecemeal.
But another Cornwall blastoff is unlikely to happen anytime soon. The site at Newquay Airport is limited to horizontal launches - where a plane takes off, carries a rocket, then is launched mid-flight.
The UK's other sites also have their sights set on space. The SaxaVord Spaceport, based on Unst Island in Shetland, is now leading the way.
This is a vertical launch site, where rockets blast off skywards from a pad. SaxaVord is working with several firms, including a German company called Rocket Factory Augsburg, which is scheduled to perform engine testing in Shetland later this year.
It's not the only spaceport to be based in Scotland. Other planned locations include Sutherland in the Highlands and Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides.
The loss of Virgin Orbit shows just how hard this race to space could be, and there may well be more failures along the way. What are you interested in?