In an important step for eventually taking commercial passengers to space, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (SPCE, Financial) announced on Friday it has received the necessary license from the Federal Aviation Administration to do so.
While the Mojave, California-based aerospace and space travel company, which was founded by Sir Richard Branson and Burt Rutan in 2004, previously received a launch license to conduct test flights in 2016, the license expansion allows Virgin Galactic to fly commercial customers to space in the future. It also marks the first time the regulator has issued such a license to a spaceflight company.
In order to receive approval, Virgin Galactic completed a 29-element verification and validation program set by the FAA. CEO Michael Colglazier said the final two milestones, which tested the VMS Eve and VSS Unity’s flight control programs and inertial navigation systems, were achieved during its most recent flight in May from Spaceport America, New Mexico.
“The flight performed flawlessly, and the results demonstrate the safety and elegance of our flight system,” he said. “Today’s approval by the FAA of our full commercial launch license, in conjunction with the success of our May 22 test flight, give us confidence as we proceed toward our first fully crewed test flight this summer.”
According to the company, the flight attained a speed of Mach 3 and reached space at an altitude of 55.5 miles. It also confirmed that the rocket-powered test of the six-passenger spaceship’s upgraded horizontal stabilizers and flight controls performed in line with expectations.
Virgin Galactic also noted the flight successfully carried three revenue-generating research experiments that “tested and demonstrated technologies in microgravity,” which were part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Flight Opportunities Program, on a specific trajectory designed to meet the experiments’ objectives.
With three successful test flights over the past two years under its belt, the company now has three more flights planned before it completes development. Virgin Galactic previously announced its next flight will carry four passengers to assess the spacecraft’s cabin, while its second will fly Branson and the third will transport three members of the Italian Air Force for professional astronaut training.
The timeline for Branson’s personal trip into space may be moved up to as soon as Independence Day weekend, however, following Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN, Financial) founder Jeff Bezos’ announcement that his Blue Origin, one of the company’s main rivals in the consumer space race, will launch its first passenger spaceflight on July 20. Multiple reports have indicated the company is considering reorganizing its flight schedule, suggesting Branson may try to beat Bezos in personally flying to the last frontier.
While a specific date for Virgin Galactic’s first flight with commercial passengers has not yet been confirmed, it has about 600 reservations for tickets on future flights, which sold at prices between $200,000 and $250,000 each according to CNBC.
Shares of Virgin Galactic soared more than 30% on Friday morning to $53.52. GuruFocus estimates the stock has skyrocketed over 100% year to date.
Top gurus that were invested in the company as of the end of the first quarter included Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio)’ Renaissance Technologies, Catherine Wood (Trades, Portfolio)'s ARK Investment, Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio), Ron Baron (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) and Lee Ainslie (Trades, Portfolio).
