Virgin Galactic re-opens ticket sales to space

Virgin Galatic's decision to re-open commercial ticket sales to space for general public sent the stock soaring by over 28%. The shares were last trading at $10.44, higher by 28.41% on Tuesday.

The space tourism company will re-open the ticket sales for $450,000. However, customers can make an initial deposit of $150,000 when the ticket sales are open for reservation.

The 90-minute spaceflight includes “several minutes of out-of-seat weightlessness," according to the company's statement.

The spaceflight reservations include access to the Future Astronaut community, which will provide members access to events, trips and space-readiness activities before their trip.

"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," said Chief Executive Officer Michael Colglazier in a statement.

As of last November, the company said it had sold 700 tickets. The current fare is well above the $200,000-$250,000 paid by some waiting 600 customers from 2005 to 2014.

The announcement gives a big 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 US regulators last year, forcing it to ground flights briefly.

Established in 2004, Billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is looking to build on the success of a high profile test mission last July, which saw Branson beat Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos in their billionaire space race by a few days.