Richard Branson plans to fly to space on July 11, days before a similar journey by fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos. The shares of Branson\u2019s Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. surged.<\/p>\n
The VSS Unity spacecraft will also carry three Virgin Galactic employees and two pilots from the launch site in New Mexico, according to a company statement Thursday. Bezos is planning a trip to space July 20 from nearby West Texas aboard a rocket made by Blue Origin, the Amazon.com Inc. founder\u2019s space company.<\/p>\n
Branson\u2019s suborbital flight would fulfill a longtime goal for the U.K. billionaire and Virgin Galactic, which he founded in 2004. The company recently completed data analysis from its last test flight on May 22, and concluded it was ready to evaluate the cabin experience, said Chief Executive Officer Michael Colglazier. Branson had his pick of which of two planned flights this summer he\u2019d prefer to join.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe foundation of it is: We\u2019re ready,\u201d Colglazier said in an interview. \u201cThere is nothing about a space race or \u2018Who goes first?\u2019 that played into this. We do our test flights when we\u2019re ready to fly them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Branson will evaluate the \u201cprivate astronaut experience,\u201d the company said, as Virgin Galactic prepares to offer flights to well-heeled customers in 2022. The voyage this month will be similar to the test flight in May, in which the Unity flew to an altitude of more than 55 miles (89 kilometers).<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter more than 16 years of research, engineering, and testing, Virgin Galactic stands at the vanguard of a new commercial space industry, which is set to open space to humankind and change the world for good,\u201d Branson said in the statement.<\/p>\n
Virgin Galactic soared 27% to $54.98 after the close of regular trading in New York.<\/p>\n
The trip will be Virgin Galactic\u2019s fourth flight to space with crew members. Joining Branson will be Beth Moses, the company\u2019s chief astronaut instructor, who has flown previously; Colin Bennett, an operations engineer; and Sirisha Bandla, vice president of government affairs.<\/p>\n
Virgin Galactic executives have said they intend to resume ticket sales after the two test flights this summer. The company suspended sales after a 2014 crash killed a test pilot.<\/p>\n
Following the planned trip on July 11, Branson said in a blog post that he would \u201cannounce something very exciting to give more people the chance to become an astronaut.\u201d<\/p>\n
Virgin Galactic plans to begin its regular commercial service next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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