Billionaire Sir Richard Branson is done putting money into space start-up Virgin Galactic Holdings (NYSE: SPCE), and investors are not sure the company will have enough cash to make it on its own. Shares of Virgin Galactic were trading down by more than 15% as of 10:30 a.m. ET Monday on investor disappointment over Branson's declaration.

Virgin Galactic launched as a public company in 2019 to great fanfare, in part because of the prominent role its charismatic founder played in promoting it. But the space company has struggled since, missing its self-declared deadline to begin commercial flights in 2020 in time for Branson's 70th birthday.

Branson himself did fly into space a year later, and Virgin Galactic's space tourism business is now producing revenue. But the company earlier this year said it intends to scale back the number of flights it conducts heading into 2024 to focus its resources on its new Delta space vehicle.

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Source Fool.com