Virgin Galactic Holdings (NYSE:SPCE), Richard Branson’s space tourism venture, has soared after announcing that its long-awaited first commercial passenger mission will take off on June 27.
The shares appreciated 40% at the beginning of the trading session this Friday (16) and around 1 pm, the shares continue at a strong increase of 15.3%, being traded at 4.68.
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Other companies that stand out in the positive field this morning are IronNet (IRNT), WeWorks (WE) and OneConnect (OCFT).
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The flight, called Galactic 01, will include researchers from the Italian Air Force and Italy’s National Research Council, the company said on Thursday. This will mark the start of Virgin Galactic’s commercial operations after several delays and pave the way for hundreds of space tourists who previously bought six-figure tickets to finally fly on the company’s ships.
The announcement of a specific date is an “important milestone” although it is in line with what the company has previously indicated, Michael Leshock, an analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets, said in a note.
The company is targeting a flight window of June 27-30 and will fly its VSS Unity space plane out of Spaceport America in New Mexico. The Galactic 01 crew will conduct experiments in the microgravity environment of space, Virgin Galactic said.
Once the mission is complete, Virgin Galactic plans to follow it up with a second commercial flight, Galactic 02, in early August. The company said it expects to run monthly missions going forward.
Virgin Galactic has not announced the Galactic 02 crew, but has hinted that the flight may finally carry tourists who bought the “tickets” years ago.
The commercial debut “will open the door” to the approximately 800 people who have already applied for seats, a group representing 66 countries, CEO Michael Colglazier said in a statement.
Virgin Galactic recently returned to spaceflight after nearly two years with a test flight called Unity 25, which sent six company employees to the edge of space and back. The flight allowed the company to make a final assessment of the “full spaceflight system and astronaut experience” before commercial flights, he said.
The company has planned commercial operations since it took Branson, its founder, into space in July 2021, but has repeatedly delayed the start by upgrading its flight vehicles. So far, Virgin Galactic has flown VSS Unity into space and back five times.
Virgin Galactic will launch the first commercial spaceflight this month; stock soars
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