Richard Branson To Fly July 11 On Virgin Galactic's Unity 22 Spaceflight

Virgin Galactic Inc SPCE recently received FAA certification to take passengers to space and now Sir Richard Branson is on board for a summer excursion.

What Happened: After the success of the VSS Unity flight in May, Virgin Galactic met key objectives on the test flight that set it up for future flights to space with passengers.

After Thursday's close, the company announced the flight window for the next rocket-powered test flight of its SpaceShipTwo Unity is July 11, pending weather and technical checks.

The Unity 22 mission will be the 22nd flight test for VSS Unity and Virgin's fourth crewed spaceflight. It will also be the first to carry a full crew of two pilots and four mission specialists in the cabin, including Branson, who will be testing the private astronaut experience.

See Also: Jeff Bezos Vs. Richard Branson: Who Will Get To Space First?

Why It's Important: "I truly believe that space belongs to all of us," Branson said in a press release. "After more than 16 years of research, engineering, and testing, Virgin Galactic stands at the vanguard of a new commercial space industry, which is set to open space to humankind and change the world for good."

Virgin Galactic's stock is trading higher by 21% to $52.32 in Thursday's after-hours session.

Blue Origin, founded by Amazon.com's AMZN founder Jeff Bezos, is scheduled to take Bezos to space on July 20.

What's Next: For the first time, Virgin Galactic will share a global livestream of the flight. The stream will be available to watch on Virgin Galactic.com and will be simulcast on the Virgin Galactic Twitter, YouTube and Facebook channels. It's expected to begin at 9 a.m. EDT on the day of the flight.

"It's one thing to have a dream of making space more accessible to all; it's another for an incredible team to collectively turn that dream into reality," Branson said.

Photo: Virgin Galactic visits the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate its listing. Richard Branson rings The First Trade Bell.