- The stock price of Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (NYSE: SPCE) increased by 6.41% on Friday, May 21. This is why it happened.
The stock price of Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (NYSE: SPCE) increased by 6.41% on Friday, May 21. Investors responded positively to the company announcing that it planned a test flight for VSS Unity on Saturday, May 22 based on the weather conditions.
Originally, the plan was to conduct the launch back in December. However, the booster computer lost connection and Unity was not able to reach space. So Virgin made fixes to the spacecraft and had to reschedule the launch again.
Yesterday, Virgin Galactic said that they completed its third spaceflight and the first-ever spaceflight from Spaceport America, New Mexico. And the flight sees New Mexico become the third US state to launch humans into space.
VSS Unity had achieved a speed of Mach 3 after being released from the mothership, VMS Eve, and reached space, at an altitude of 55.45 miles before gliding smoothly to a runway landing at Spaceport America.
On VSS Unity’s flight deck were CJ Sturckow and Dave Mackay, while Kelly Latimer and Michael Masucci piloted VMS Eve. CJ — who flew as pilot-in-command — became the first person ever to have flown to space from three different states. And the crew experienced extraordinary views of the bright and blue-rimmed curvature of the earth against the blackness of space.
“Today’s flight showcased the inherent elegance and safety of our spaceflight system, while marking a major step forward for both Virgin Galactic and human spaceflight in New Mexico. Space travel is a bold and adventurous endeavor, and I am incredibly proud of our talented team for making the dream of private space travel a reality. We will immediately begin processing the data gained from this successful test flight, and we look forward to sharing news on our next planned milestone,” said Michael Colglazier, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Galactic.
Virgin Galactic had fulfilled a number of test objectives during the flight, including:
— Carried revenue-generating scientific research experiments as part of NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program.
— Collected data to be used for the final two verification reports that are required as part of the current FAA commercial reusable spacecraft operator’s license.
— Tested the spaceship’s upgraded horizontal stabilizers and flight controls and validated EMI reductions.
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