Virgin Galactic reopens ticket sales, with prices starting at $450,000 per seat

Virgin Galactic delivered second-quarter results after the market closed on Thursday and announced that it will reopen ticket sales, effective immediately.

The company also announced its next spaceflight test is targeting late September from Spaceport America in New Mexico.

Shares of Virgin Galactic jumped 11% in after-hours trading from its close of $31.53.

The company flew two spaceflight tests during the quarter, with the first marking its debut from Spaceport America in New Mexico. The second flight carried founder Richard Branson and three other mission specialists to test the vehicle’s cabin. The company’s leadership previously announced that it would fly two more tests of spacecraft VSS Unity, with the first carrying another four “mission specialists” and the second flying members of the Italian Air Force.

Former Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides is expected to fly on the company’s next spaceflight test, CNBC reported last month, an announcement Branson made after his spaceflight.

The space tourism company is conducting the spaceflight tests as the final step in developing its vehicle, with the goal of beginning passenger flights in early 2022. The company has about 600 reservations for tickets on future flights.

Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft VSS Unity was designed to carry six passengers — in addition to two pilots — but the vehicle is now outfitted to carry four, with Virgin Galactic confirming that its spaceflight with Branson represented a “fully crewed” launch.