Virgin Galactic Stock Jumps 28%
Sale of $450,000 space flight tickets begins

Space tourism company Virgin Galactic announced Tuesday that it will open ticket sales to the public for the first time on Wednesday and will require a $150,000 deposit.
As the company announced last year, Virgin Galactic ticket prices start at $450,000 a piece. There are three different sales offers: the purchase of a single seat, seat packages for couples, friends or families, or the option to book entire flights. The company has previously stated that $25,000 of the $150,000 deposit is non-refundable.
Virgin Galactic shares were up 28% in trading from their last close of $8.14. The stock has plummeted 85% over the past 12 months as the company delayed the start of commercial spaceflights until later this year.
Over the past decade, Virgin Galactic has had about 600 reservations for future flights, with tickets mostly selling for between $200,000 and $250,000 apiece. In August, the company opened tickets for sale priced at $450,000 to those who had expressed interest. About 100 additional tickets were sold by November.
In addition to opening ticket sales to the public, Virgin Galactic also announced that it will replace Sir Richard Branson's iris in its logo with a purple outline of his spaceship. With this step, Virgin Galactic distances itself from its founder. Branson has sold more than $1.25 billion worth of stock since the company's IPO in 2019 and in July fulfilled his longstanding dream of crossing the US frontier of space.





