Here's Why Virgin Galactic Stock Is Flying Today
Space tourism company Virgin Galactic Holdings (NYSE: SPCE) was getting a lot of investor interest in July when it took a crew that included billionaire founder Sir Richard Branson to the edge of space on its Unity 22 test mission. But since that flight on July 11, Virgin Galactic stock is down almost 50%. That's partly because the Federal Aviation Administration grounded the company after that flight to look into a "mishap" that occurred during the mission. But that FAA probe is now complete, and shares of Virgin Galactic have responded with a gain of 13.5% as of 11:05 a.m. EDT today.
On the test flight in July, during the ascent, the spacecraft veered off its flight path for less than two minutes, which put it outside of air traffic control clearance for that time period. The FAA has been probing the issue since August, and Virgin Galactic today announced that the inquiry is complete and the FAA has accepted corrective actions proposed by the company.
View of rocket firing during Unity 22 mission. Image source: Virgin Galactic.
Source Fool.com
