Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic gets $800m boost from space flight

Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic gets $800m boost from space flight

SIR Richard Branson’s successful maiden voyage to the boundary of outer space has lifted the value of his space tourism enterprise by more than $800million.

SIR Richard Branson’s successful maiden voyage to the boundary of outer space has lifted the value of his space tourism enterprise by more than $800million.

Shares in Virgin Galactic Holdings jumped as much as 22% in premarket trading on Wall Street, surpassing an all-time peak reached in February.

The boost added around $841 million to the market value of the firm based in Las Cruces, New Mexico

The stock has rocketed by 217% in the past two months and is up more than double year-on-year.

Branson, the 70-year-old billionaire, and five employees completed the long-awaited test flight aboard the company’s VSS Unity spaceplane last night, reaching an altitude of more than 50 miles above the desert during the hour-long journey before gliding back to Earth.

The success of the mission bolsters the company’s plan to debut tourism trips next year.

Tourists will pay $250,000 US dollars (£180,000) for a spaceflight on Virgin Galactic, which includes four minutes of zero gravity.


“Welcome to the dawn of a new space age,” Branson told guests at the Spaceport America complex after touching down.

Branson’s test flight came nine days ahead of Jeff Bezos’s first flight aboard a rocket from his private space company, Blue Origin.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is also planning a number of SpaceX missions, taking passengers on longer trips, with the first scheduled for September.

Meanwhile back on UK soil, the booming space industry is no longer just the preserve of billionaires after investors seized on a chance to explore a new frontier.

Seraphim Space Investment Trust today said that a £180 million fundraising had been oversubscribed amid support from both City institutions and retail investors.

It plans to acquire stakes in four space tech businesses before the end of this year as it looks to back the next generation of space entrepreneurs.


The fundraising and Wednesday’s start of unconditional trading on London’s main market couldn’t be better timed after Branson’s trip to the edge of space on board a Virgin Galactic rocket plane yesterday brought space tourism a step closer.

Will Whitehorn used to be president of Virgin Galactic and is now chairman at Seraphim. He said the fund’s London listing would give investors unparalleled early access to companies that will shape a “new economic revolution”.

The old economy, meanwhile, continues to struggle as further jitters over the global economic rebound and spread of the Delta variant left the FTSE 100 index 41.25 points lower at 7081.03.

The latest sell-off was led by British Airways owner IAG and Rolls-Royce as the pair fell 4.7p to 180.2p and 2.6p to 98.4p respectively. Cyclical sectors including mining and banking were also under pressure after Anglo American gave up 62p to 2,929p and Barclays fell 3.4p to 169.9p.

The domestic-focused FTSE 250 fell 63.14 points to 22846.52.

Trustpilot shares were 2.2p higher at 336.8p after the business review website reported half-year revenues 31% up. The deal-making by Tate & Lyle and a broker upgrade for online electrical appliance business AO World sent shares in both 2% higher.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
×