Virgin Galactic reopens ticket sales, with prices starting at $450,000 per seat

Virgin Galactic’s passenger rocket plane VSS Unity, carrying Richard Branson and crew, begins its ascent to the edge of space above Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, U.S. July 11, 2021 in a still image from video.
Virgin Galactic | via Reuters

Virgin Galactic delivered second-quarter results after the market closed on Thursday and announced that it will reopen ticket sales, effective immediately.

The company also announced its next spaceflight test is targeting late September from Spaceport America in New Mexico.

Shares of Virgin Galactic jumped 11% in after-hours trading from its close of $31.53.

The company flew two spaceflight tests during the quarter, with the first marking its debut from Spaceport America in New Mexico. The second flight carried founder Richard Branson and three other mission specialists to test the vehicle’s cabin. The company’s leadership previously announced that it would fly two more tests of spacecraft VSS Unity, with the first carrying another four “mission specialists” and the second flying members of the Italian Air Force.

Former Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides is expected to fly on the company’s next spaceflight test, CNBC reported last month, an announcement Branson made after his spaceflight.

The space tourism company is conducting the spaceflight tests as the final step in developing its vehicle, with the goal of beginning passenger flights in early 2022. The company has about 600 reservations for tickets on future flights.

Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft VSS Unity was designed to carry six passengers — in addition to two pilots — but the vehicle is now outfitted to carry four, with Virgin Galactic confirming that its spaceflight with Branson represented a “fully crewed” launch.

Become a smarter investor with CNBC Pro.
Get stock picks, analyst calls, exclusive interviews and access to CNBC TV. 
Sign up to start a free trial today.

Finance

Articles You May Like

GM expects 2025 earnings to be similar to this year’s despite industry headwinds
Hurricane Milton could cause as much as $175 billion in damage, according to early estimates
USD/CAD flat lines below 1.3650, eyes on FOMC Minutes
ForexLive Asia-Pacific FX news wrap: NZD/USD lower after an expected RBNZ 50bp rate cut
USDJPY breaks higher this week and extends above the 38.2% of move down from July 3 high

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *