The government has shortlisted five sites for the first Virgin Galactic spaceport in Britain, Sir Richard Branson said yesterday, as the company made its stock market debut in New York.
Shares in the first publicly traded human spaceflight company rose by as much as 9.5 per cent, giving it a market capitalisation of about $2.5 billion.
Virgin Galactic, founded in 2004, aims to take passengers into space on sub-orbital rides, during which they will briefly experience weightlessness, witness the curve of the Earth and see the thin blue line of the atmosphere. Tickets will cost $250,000. The company has collected $80 million in deposits from 600 would-be astronauts, including Leonardo DiCaprio, the actor, and Justin Bieber, the pop star.
Virgin Galactic builds and tests