What happened
Shares of Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE +2.56%), the high-profile space tourism company, closed Monday 3.5% higher. The move seemed to be related to some news that came out just before the weekend.
So what
Late Friday afternoon, CNBC reported that Virgin Galactic's former CEO, George Whitesides, will be an important passenger on the company's next test spaceflight. The financial news outlet said that founder Richard Branson revealed the plan at a company party in July. Former NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver told CNBC that Branson said, "George will be leading our next flight."
Virgin Galactic's Unity 22 crew, including founder Richard Branson. Image source: Virgin Galactic.
CNBC quoted an unnamed Virgin Galactic spokesman as saying that it has "not confirmed the details for the Unity 23 manifest at this time."
Whitesides did not respond to a request for comment.
The company's Unity 22 mission, which flew earlier this month, famously carried Branson as a passenger. It's unclear if his participation, and Whitesides' apparent spot on the next flight, is part of a formal program to put company notables into space.
Now what
Whitesides probably deserves his ride. He is a long-serving Virgin Galactic man, having been CEO from 2010 to 2020; he is now chairman of the company's space advisory board.
His apparent participation in the upcoming flight won't change anything materially for the company. But it could be seen as a show of confidence in its craft and its operations, so perhaps that's the reason for Monday's bump.
