Virgin Galactic’s merger with the Social Capital Hedosophia venture capital fund is official. This makes Virgin Galactic—so far—the only spaceflight company with publicly traded stock. Social Capital Hedosophia is run by Chamath Palihapitiya. Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic, will retain 51% if the company stock, initially valued at $ 1.5 billion. The company will use the ticker symbol of SPCE on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Branson had suggested during a recent CNBC interview that Virgin Galactic’s stock would soon go public.
The Virgin Galactic space vehicle can carry six passengers and a crew of two to the lower edge of space where passengers will experience weightlessness for several minutes. A ticket for a flight is currently expected to be $250,000. There are more than 600 people on the wait list.