Virgin Galatic's share prices surged on Monday after reports had broken out that it had managed to bag a contract with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to train astronauts. The company later announced that it had, in fact, signed a "Space Act Agreement" with the US space agency, which involves the training of astronauts for trips to space and the International Space Station in orbit.
The space tourism venture, owned largely by billionaire Richard Branson through Virgin Group, signed the agreement with NASA's Johnson Space Center. After reports had broken out regarding the deal, Virgin Galactic's share prices soared by as much as 15.9 percent before closing at $17.39 per share on Monday.
As part of its contract, Virgin Galactic has been tasked with developing a comprehensive training program for future astronauts. The "Private Orbital Astronaut Readiness" program will be based on a similar program, which Virgin Galactic developed for tourists on its future flights.
For the latter part of its planned program, which involves trainees actually going into space, Virgin Galactic revealed that it will be buying seats on flights provided by its rival SpaceX through its Crew Dragon spacecraft. Virgin Galactic revealed that the program will be applicable to both private citizens and government personnel that need to travel to space for scientific research.
Virgin Galactic chief executive officer, George Whitesides, mentioned in a statement that the company is excited to be partnering with NASA in developing a new spaceflight training program for future astronauts. He added that the collaboration should allow the company to expand its space flight platform and training infrastructure to other agencies in the future, further pushing the growth of the global space industry.
The development of the new program is separate from the company's core business of someday ferrying tourists to space. Unlike other space tourism agencies, Virgin Galactic plans to fly tourists on traditional looking planes, as opposed to rockets, to bring them to the edge of space in short trips.
As of now, Virgin Galactic has received more than 600 ticket reservations from private passengers. Each ticket is priced between $200,000 and $250,000 per person. The company is still in the middle of testing its aircraft for suborbital flights and has yet to begin commercial operations.
The company's latest prototype spacecraft, called SpaceShipTwo, is able to reach the edge of space after piggybacking a ride onboard a carrier airplane, which the company calls the White Knight Two. Apart from carrying tourists, the company is also planning to offer commercial suborbital space flights for space science missions.
