Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc.’s stock rose 3.4% in premarket trades as the company was making its preparations for its first commercial spaceflight Thursday.
The Galactic 01 mission will be for scientific purposes, and will carry three crew members from Italy’s air force and the National Research Council of Italy looking to conduct research on microgravity. Virgin Galactic’s SPCE livestream of the launch from Spaceport America in New Mexico begins at 11 am ET.
Virgin Galactic is planning its second commercial flight — Galactic 02, geared toward private astronauts — for launch in early August, with monthly flights to follow. Last month Virgin Galactic completed its Unity 25 spaceflight. That flight — its fifth overall — was the first crewed mission in nearly two years.