Virgin Galactic, founded by Richard Branson, has announced the resumption of its space tourism operations after a two-year hiatus. The company has opened ticket sales for a new round of space expeditions, with individual tickets priced at $750,000 (approximately 5.19 million yuan), marking an increase of about $100,000 compared to previous rates.
The company had temporarily suspended ticket sales to focus on test flights for its upgraded Delta-class spacecraft. Notably, following Blue Origin's announcement in January to halt flights of its New Shepard rocket, Virgin Galactic has become the only major player in the industry dedicated to short-duration space tourism.
On Monday local time, Virgin Galactic released its fourth-quarter 2025 financial results, which fell short of analyst expectations. Shortly after, the company confirmed the restart of its ticket sales program. Virgin Galactic also outlined its future operational plans, revealing that its second spacecraft is expected to enter service between late 2025 and early 2026. Once operational, the company plans to significantly increase the frequency of space flights.
Founded in 2004 by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic specializes in providing suborbital space travel experiences. The company uses a twin-fuselage carrier aircraft to transport its spacecraft to an altitude of 45,000 feet before separation. Passengers then experience several minutes of weightlessness and can observe the curvature of the Earth, with each flight lasting approximately one hour.
On July 11, 2021, Branson flew aboard the VSS Unity spacecraft, completing the company's first crewed spaceflight. Commercial operations began in June 2023, with the first paying customers traveling to space in August of the same year.
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