Virgin Galactic stock surged another 8% in premarket trading on geting the green light from the FAA to fly passengers to space.
Virgin Galactic announced on last Friday that the Federal Aviation Administration granted the company the license it needs to fly passengers on future spaceflights, a key hurdle as the venture completes development testing.
“The commercial license that we have had in place since 2016 remains in place, but is now cleared to allow us to carry commercial passengers when we’re ready to do so,” Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier told CNBC. “This is obviously an exciting milestone and a huge compliment to the team.”
While the FAA previously gave Virgin Galactic a launch license to conduct spaceflights, the license expansion allows the company to fly what the regulator calls “spaceflight participants.” The company completed a 29 element verification and validation program for the FAA, clearing the final two FAA milestones with its most recent spaceflight test in May. Colglazier noted the two last milestones were specific to the spacecraft’s flight control systems and inertial navigation systems.
Virgin Galactic’s stock rose above $40 a share this week, after a tumultuous start to the year. Shares climbed above $60 in February and then slid to a low near $15 last month before rebounding.
Notably, Virgin Galactic chief astronaut trainer Beth Moses is the only non-pilot to fly on one of the company’s spaceflights. To date, five Virgin Galactic employees, including four pilots, have become FAA-recognized astronauts – as the U.S. officially views an altitude of 80 kilometers (or about 50 miles) as the boundary to space.
Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft Unity is designed to hold up to six passengers along with the two pilots. The company has about 600 reservations for tickets on future flights, sold at prices between $200,000 and $250,000 each.
Virgin Galactic shares soared 38.87% to $55.91 on last Friday in the regular session. The company’s shares have returned 135.6% on a year-to-date basis.
