June 15 (Reuters) - Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE.N), the space tourism firm founded by Richard Branson, said on Thursday its long-awaited commercial spaceflight service would launch later this month, sending its shares up over 55% in trading after the bell.
The first spaceflight, called "Galactic 01", is planned between June 27 and June 30, the company said.
Shares of Virgin Galactic had lost over two-thirds of their value last year due to delays in the company's launch of commercial service.
But in February, it said it had completed a lengthy upgrade period for its centerpiece tourist spacecraft, clearing the path for its first commercial spaceflight.
The first commercial mission will carry three crew members from the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council of Italy to conduct microgravity research, Virgin Galactic said.
Persons:
Richard Branson, Chavi Mehta, Pooja Desai, Krishna Chandra
Organizations:
Virgin Galactic Holdings, Virgin Galactic, VSS Unity, Italian Air Force, National Research Council, Thomson
Locations:
Italy, Bengaluru