Virgin Galactic SPCE Q2 2021 Results

Virgin Galactic released its second quarter results after the market closed on Thursday and said it would reopen ticket sales, with prices starting at $ 450,000 per seat.

The company also announced that its next space flight test will be aimed at the end of September from Spaceport America in New Mexico, carrying members of the Italian Air Force.

Virgin Galactic shares were up 4% out of trading hours from its close of $ 31.53.

Virgin Galactic reported a second quarter adjusted EBITDA loss of $ 56 million, just above the loss of $ 55.9 million in the previous quarter. It generated $ 571,000 in revenue in the second quarter from scientific research experiments aboard its May space flight.

The company conducted two space flight tests during the quarter, 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 cabin of the vehicle.

Company management has previously announced that it will perform two more tests of the VSS Unity spacecraft, the first carrying four other “mission specialists” and the second carrying flying members of the Italian Air Force. Branson had announced after his space flight that former Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides would fly in the company’s next space flight test, as CNBC reported last month. But that plan seems to have changed with the Italian space flight, referred to as Unity flight 23, now scheduled for the next one.

Virgin Galactic will then pause space flight operations for a previously announced four month “improvement period” before launching its Unity 24 space flight test. Next, with Unity Flight 25, Virgin Galactic plans to launch commercial services with its first non-development flight.

The space tourism company is conducting space flight tests as a final step in its vehicle development, with the goal of starting passenger flights in early 2022. The company has around 600 ticket reservations for future flights, with those tickets being largely sold for between $ 200,000 and $ 250,000. each.

Virgin Galactic will offer three different sales packages, starting at $ 450,000 a seat, for space tourists: a single seat purchase, group seats for couples, friends or family, or the ability to reserve. entire flights. The company noted that sales would initially prioritize Virgin Galactic’s “important first hand lifter list”, with a “follow-up priority list” to open for new customers.

Its VSS Unity spacecraft was designed to carry six passengers – in addition to two pilots – but the vehicle is now equipped to carry four, with Virgin Galactic confirming that its space flight with Branson represented a “full crew” launch.