Earlier today, the company that pioneered space tourism said it had signed an MoU with Rolls-Royce to partner with the manufacture of Mach 3 jets, which can travel at thrice the speed of sound. Notably, Rolls-Royce comes with the experience of designing the Mach 2 Concorde’ engine.
Virgin Galactic added in a statement that a Mission Concept Review was successfully completed, where representatives from NASA approved the design concept for its supersonic jet. In May, Virgin and NASA had entered into a deal to collaborate on high-speed technologies.
In an update to its space tourism ambitions, the company said it aims to fly its founder Sir Richard Branson sometime in the first quarter of next year. The company expects to complete two flight demonstrations with test pilots and mission specialists ahead of Branson’s space flight.
Stock sale
In a separate SEC filing, Virgin stated that it was looking raise funds by selling roughly 20.5 million fresh shares. Going by the current rates, this would be valued close to $500 million.
The Las Cruces, New Mexico-headquartered firm had also recently rejigged its top-level management. George Whitesides, who served as it’s CEO for about a decade was made the Chief Space Officer. Former President of Disney Parks International, Michael Colglazier, took over as the new CEO on July 20.
Virgin Galactic competes with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, both of which are private companies.
Prior-quarter performance
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