Virgin Galactic
- Virgin Galactic stock plummeted 19% early Friday after the company delayed the start of commercial service.
- The company said commercial spaceflights would be pushed back to the end of 2022.
- Virgin Galactic has been a favorite among retail traders this year.
Virgin Galactic stock plummeted 19% early Friday after the company delayed the start of its commercial spaceflight service to the end of 2022.
The Las Cruces, New Mexico-based space travel company said commercial service was delayed to the fourth quarter next year after lab tests "flagged a possible reduction in the strength margins of certain materials used to modify specific joints, and this requires further physical inspection."
Now, Virgin Galactic will begin updating its spacecraft, which is expected to be completed between June and August, a spokesperson told CNBC. A representative from the company did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The company had planned to launch its first commercial flight, Unity 23, in September, but was delayed because of an inquiry from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The agency approved a return to flight last month, and the company had set its Unity 23 takeoff for mid-October.
Now set for next year, the company said the new delay is "unrelated" to the FAA's probe of the mishap that occurred on a July flight with company founder Richard Branson.
The Unity 24 and Unity 25 missions were previously set for the third quarter of 2022, but those two spaceflights no longer have planned dates, CNBC reported.
Virgin Galactic stock went public in October 2019 with a SPAC backed by billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya. Since then, it's become a favorite among retail traders, enthused with SPACs and Palihapitiya, the self-proclaimed SPAC king.
After the company published the statement Thursday, social media chatter around Virgin Galactic soared, according to data from HypeEquity.
Though the shares have faced volatility this year amid the meme-stock craze, they remained relatively unchanged year-to-date as of the Thursday close, when they were up 1.4% to $24.06.