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Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc.’s stock rose 4.4% Thursday, boosted by the announcement that the company is targeting Aug. 10 for Galactic 02, its second commercial spaceflight.
The Galactic 02 mission will also mark Virgin Galactic’s
SPCE,
first private astronaut mission. Last month, the Galactic 01 mission transported three crew members from the Italian air force and the National Research Council of Italy into space to conduct research on microgravity.
Details about the Galactic 02 crew and pilots will be released at a later date, Virgin Galactic said in a statement.
Related: Virgin Galactic makes first commercial spaceflight, transporting Italian researchers into space
The company expects monthly flights to follow. The cost of a trip to space with Virgin Galactic is $450,000, so customers inevitably come from the ranks of the superwealthy. But demand has been brisk, with Virgin Galactic saying that it has around 800 “future astronauts” signed up.
Virgin Galactic’s stock is up 16.1% this year.
In a filing last month, the company said it’s seeking to raise $400 million to develop its spaceship fleet and infrastructure and scale up its commercial operations.
Related: Virgin Galactic could open up space to ‘everyday people,’ says former NASA astronaut
However, the company reported a bigger-than-expected loss in its most recent quarter. And Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson’s satellite-launch company, Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc.
VORWQ,
has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Micah Walter-Range, the president of space consulting firm Caelus Partners and a contributor to the S-Network Space Index, which is the index behind the Procure Space exchange-traded fund
UFO,
recently told MarketWatch that investors are still evaluating the “one-of-a-kind” Virgin Galactic.
Prior to the company’s first commercial flight, Walter-Range commented on the road ahead for Virgin Galactic and its plan for regular private spaceflights. “The question is whether it’s the beginning of a string of successes for the company or a milestone that will be followed by another multiyear lull,” he told MarketWatch.
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