Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. is preparing for the penultimate mission of its Unity spacecraft before it halts commercial operations to develop its new Delta-class spacecraft.
The flight window for the Galactic 06 mission opens at 12 p.m. Eastern time on Friday. The space-tourism company’s 11th mission will carry four private astronauts into space — two from the U.S., one from Austria and one with U.S. and Ukrainian nationality, according to Virgin Galactic
SPCE,
Related: Virgin Galactic’s stock rises after Truist upgrade
Shares of Virgin Galactic are down 3.6% Wednesday and are on pace to snap a two-day winning streak. The shares are down 62.4% in the last 52 weeks, compared with the S&P 500 index’s
SPX
gain of 21.5%.
After the Galactic 06 mission, Virgin Galactic plans to launch its Galactic 07 flight during the early part of the second quarter, according to CEO Michael Colglazier, who spoke during the conference call to discuss the company’s third-quarter results. Virgin Galactic will then pause its missions to focus on the Delta spacecraft.
Related: Virgin Galactic’s stock slides 17% after Richard Branson rules out further investment
The new spacecraft will begin flight tests in 2025 and enter service in 2026. Unlike the company’s current Unity spacecraft, which has four seats for paying passengers, the Delta spacecraft will have six passenger seats and will be capable of making up to eight spaceflights a month, compared with Unity’s one spaceflight a month.
This will increase Virgin Galactic’s monthly revenue per spacecraft from the current maximum of $2.4 million to a potential $28.8 million, the company said in November.
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For Virgin Galactic, 2024 is about focusing on its Delta-class spaceships, KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Michael Leshock told MarketWatch last year. “It really could be a game changer for the company in terms of shifting from burning to generating cash,” he said.
Virgin Galactic narrowed its quarterly loss and more than doubled its revenue when it reported its third-quarter results in November. The company’s revenue rose to $1.73 million, compared with $767,000 in the prior year’s quarter.
Related: For Virgin Galactic, faster revenue generation is coming ‘just not anytime soon,’ says one analyst
The company’s shares rose earlier this month after Truist Securities upgraded the stock to hold from sell and raised its price target to $3 from $1.
This story originally appeared on Marketwatch
