Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Sets June Date for First Commercial Spaceflight
- Branson’s space-tourism company to fly as early as June 27
- CEO says previously booked seats to be filled shortly after
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Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc.’s shares surged the most on record after the space-tourism venture founded by Richard Branson announced that its long-awaited first commercial passenger mission will take off as soon as June 27.
The flight, called Galactic 01, will include researchers from the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council of Italy, the company said late Thursday. It will mark the beginning of commercial operations for Virgin Galactic after numerous delays, and pave the way for the hundreds of space tourists who previously bought six-figure tickets to finally fly on the company’s ships.