Virgin Galactic announces new research flight contract for the Delta Class spaceship

Virgin Galactic Holdings (NYSE:SPCE) announced on Thursday a new contract with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences to fly three research astronauts as part of a future crew aboard the Delta Class spaceship.

The space tourism company highlighted that it will be the second research mission that IIAS has conducted with Virgin Galactic (SPCE), as it follows Galactic 05 in November 2023, which tested novel healthcare technologies and examined how fluids behaved in low gravity to help inform designs for future medical technologies and life-support systems.

The new mission is anticipated to take place within the first year of Delta commercial service, which remains on track to commence in 2026.

Shares of Virgin Galactic (SPCE) fell 0.45% in premarket trading on Thursday, after falling more than 13% in the previous session. Short interest on SPCE stands at more than 25% of the total float. A 1-for-20 reverse stock split for the stock became effective on June 14 after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.