Virgin Galactic Holdings

Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. is a commercial spaceflight company focused on developing and operating space tourism services for private individuals and researchers. Founded by Sir Richard Branson, the company is headquartered in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and operates from Spaceport America, the world's first purpose-built commercial spaceport.

The company's spaceflight system uses a proprietary air-launch approach in which a carrier aircraft, VMS Eve, ascends to high altitude before releasing the SpaceShipTwo vehicle, VSS Unity, which then ignites its rocket motor to reach suborbital space. Passengers experience several minutes of weightlessness and views of Earth against the backdrop of space before gliding back to a runway landing.

Virgin Galactic targets multiple market segments including consumer space tourism, scientific research payloads and professional astronaut training. The company has also explored partnerships for high-speed point-to-point travel using its spaceflight technology. Virgin Galactic's development roadmap includes next-generation vehicles designed to increase flight frequency and reduce per-seat costs, aiming to scale commercial operations beyond its initial flight program.