Boeing announced Tuesday that their Boeing HorizonX Ventures subsidiary would invest $20M in return for future shares of Virgin Galactic. Last July, Virgin Galactic announced their intent to go public in a business combination with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp.
In an October 8th Boeing Press Release, the company announced a $20M investment in Sir Richard Branson’s pioneering human spaceflight company, Virgin Galactic. The investment will be made by Boeing HorizonX Ventures with the goal of transforming global travel technologies and commercial human spaceflight. Brian Schettler, Boeing HorizonX Ventures senior managing director stated,
“Boeing’s strategic investment facilitates our effort to drive the commercialization of space and broaden consumer access to safe, efficient and environmentally responsible new forms of transportation. Our work with Virgin Galactic, and others, will help unlock the future of space travel and high-speed mobility.”
The new deal is contingent on the closing of the Virgin Galactic’s business combination with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp., and public offering, which is expected to close in Q4 2019. As we have previously reported, Virgin Galactic has made great progress in recent months with the opening of their stunning new Gateway To Space building at Spaceport America in New Mexico and the ongoing construction of two additional Spaceship Two vehicles.
Virgin Galactic has already invested $1B in their pursuit to make commercial human spaceflight a reality. Boeing is currently developing a new reusable space capsule called the “Starliner” for NASA, which will be used to transport astronauts to the International Space Station. In the announcement, Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic’s founder stated,
“This is the beginning of an important collaboration for the future of air and space travel, which are the natural next steps for our human spaceflight program. Virgin Galactic and Boeing share a vision of opening access to the world and space, to more people, in safe and environmentally responsible ways.”
Source: Boeing