Virgin Galactic stock is popping as company plans to rerun space flight test as early as Feb 13

Virgin Galactic is gearing up for its next space flight attempt, with the company announcing on Monday that it will rerun its aborted December flight test as early as Feb. 13.

The space tourism company said one of the main objectives of the space flight tests is “to test the repair work that has been completed since … the on-board computer stopped firing the rocket engine.”

“The team has since conducted root cause analysis, completed the required corrective work and conducted extensive ground testing. The next stage will be to assess and verify this work during a rocket-powered flight,” Virgin Galactic said in a press release. .

Shares of Virgin Galactic are up a whopping 9% in premarket trading since the previous close.

Virgin Galactic will also focus on each of the original objectives of the December flight attempt, “ including evaluating elements of the passenger cabin, testing the spaceship’s livestream capability to the ground, and assessing the improved horizontal stabilizers and flight controls in flight. boost phase of the flight, ”the company said.

Following the flight test, Virgin Galactic said it will “complete a comprehensive data review” to “inform the next steps in the flight test program.” Prior to the aborted flight in December, Virgin Galactic had expected to conduct three more space flight tests before commencing commercial flights. The second and third spaceflight tests were previously scheduled for the first quarter of 2021.

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