Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc.
SPCE -6.11%
on Thursday said Mr. Branson plans to board a flight that will launch for space on July 11, assuming the weather permits and there are no technical problems.
The launch would be nine days before Mr. Bezos, the outgoing chief executive at Amazon.com Inc., is expected to do so on a craft operated by the space company he founded, Blue Origin.
The planned launches ferrying both men and their fellow crewmates highlight the competition between Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin to the edge of space. Passengers on suborbital flights may pay significant amounts to experience weightlessness and see Earth from vantage points few have witnessed.
In a statement, Blue Origin Chief Executive
Bob Smith
said the company wishes Mr. Branson a great, safe flight. He said Virgin Galactic doesn’t fly above the Karman Line, which is the imaginary boundary about 62 miles above sea level considered the beginning of space. “It’s a very different experience,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Virgin Galactic said the company flies above 50 miles, which she said meets a National Aeronautics and Space Administration definition of space.
Virgin Galactic executives have said in the past that trips could cost less than $500,000, but the company hasn’t disclosed prices for commercial service it hopes to launch next year.
Shares of Virgin Galactic jumped 27% to $54.99 in after-hours trading Thursday.
The mission will be Virgin Galactic’s fourth crewed spaceflight and the company’s first to carry a full crew of two pilots and four mission specialists, including Mr. Branson, in the cabin.
“I’m honored to help validate the journey our future astronauts will undertake and ensure we deliver the unique customer experience people expect from Virgin,” Mr. Branson said in a statement.
Mr. Branson’s task will be to use his background in creating consumer experiences to absorb the trip’s feel from the perspective of a private astronaut, Virgin Galactic Chief Executive
Michael Colglazier
said in an interview.
“This is the flight that’s ready for him,” Mr. Colglazier said, adding that the company picked the proposed July 11 launch date because the company is technically ready. Last week, Virgin Galactic said the Federal Aviation Administration granted it a full commercial space-launch license, opening the door to outside passengers to join flights.
“
‘This is the flight that’s ready for him’
”
Virgin Galactic, which went public in 2019, uses a spacecraft that rockets into the lower part of space after being dropped from a highflying airplane that takes off from a facility in New Mexico. During flights, passengers will be able to float for a few minutes in space if they want, a spokeswoman said, before the craft glides back to earth. In all, the trips take about 90 minutes.
Other passengers expected for the company’s flight this month include Beth Moses, its chief astronaut instructor, and Sirisha Bandla, a vice president focused on government affairs and research.
Mr. Bezos’s Blue Origin has a different approach, using a reusable rocket to propel a capsule briefly above the Karman Line. The capsule then returns to the ground with a parachute. The trip lasts about 10 minutes.
Blue Origin said earlier Thursday that its planned launch later this month will include
Wally Funk,
an 82-year-old pilot, as a guest. She had trained for space flight in the 1960s as part of a private program that tested female pilots for astronaut fitness, according to the company.
Mr. Bezos’s brother Mark is also expected on the flight, as is an unnamed person who bid almost $30 million in a charity auction for a seat.
Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com
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