Setback for Wagner Corporation's Wellcamp airport as Virgin Orbit announces bankruptcy

Virgin Orbit's novel method of launching rockets involved dropping them from under the wing of a jumbo jet. (Supplied: Virgin Orbit)

A US company that was due to launch rockets from Queensland has filed for bankruptcy, dealing a blow to a regional airport that was selected to be a base. 

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit was due to launch rockets from Wellcamp Airport near Toowoomba in 2024. 

The California-based company has lodged a filing in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware seeking a sale of its assets.

Virgin Orbit, which went public in 2021, had been working on plans to launch rockets into space from Boeing 747 aircraft.

The company signed an agreement with Wellcamp Airport's owner Wagner Corporation in September to certify it as a national spaceport.

University of Southern Queensland astrophysicist Jonti Horner said Virgin Orbit's collapse came about because the business had become uncompetitive.

"What [other companies] are doing ... is these big rideshare type things where you're getting many satellites launched at once," he said.

"[Virgin Orbit] simply can't compete with the costs."

Virgin Orbit and Wagner Corporation struck a deal in September to launch satellites from the Toowoomba airport.  (ABC Southern Qld: David Chen)

Professor Horner said the failure of the company's sixth mission, in Britain in January, was the final nail in the coffin for the company.

"They lost a lot of money ... they weren't able to recover it," he said.

Professor Horner said while it was a shame for the region, the loss of Virgin Orbit would not hamper progress in Australia's burgeoning space industry.

"Australia is very much invested in and looking to space," he said.

"It's just not necessarily going to be from rockets launching from underneath aircraft taking off from Wellcamp."

Wagner still optimistic

Wagner Corporation chairman John Wagner said the news was not a surprise. 

Mr Wagner says the company will see how the Virgin Orbit situation plays out.  (ABC News: Matt Eaton)

"They've got to go through a process," he said. 

"The major investor pulled out, and they're going through Chapter 11 which is a pretty standard thing in the US to protect their creditors and workers.

"I think they'll come out of it much better and much stronger."

Mr Wagner said he was optimistic about Virgin Orbit's commitment to Wellcamp airport. 

"We're confident that it will all work out, but until we see who the new owner is, we're unsure," he said. 

"We think the technology is the best in the world. It's a matter of them raising the money."

Mr Wagner said the aerospace precinct of Wellcamp would not be affected by the latest development.