Virgin Galactic will start selling tickets to space — have your $150,000 deposit ready

Virgin Galactic on Wednesday will open commercial ticket sales for spaceflights, the company said.

Customers can make a deposit of $150,000 when sales open, Virgin Galactic said in a statement. A 90-minute flight, with “several minutes of out-of-seat weightlessness,” will cost a total of $450,000.

“We plan to have our first 1,000 customers on board at the start of commercial service later this year, providing an incredibly strong foundation as we begin regular operations and scale our fleet,” Chief Executive Michael Colglazier said in the statement.

The announcement gives a needed boost to Virgin Galactic, which has sputtered in recent months. After founder Richard Branson took a high-profile flight in July, the company said it would delay the start of commercial service to upgrade its space plane. The company also ran afoul of U.S. regulators last year, forcing it to ground flights briefly.

After Tuesday’s announcement, the company’s shares notched their second-biggest gain since trading began in 2019. Shares soared 32% to $10.74 in New York — the biggest one-day gain since June 25. Still, the stock is down 81% from the June peak.