The deal poises Boeing and Virgin Galactic to explore the marketplace for above-atmosphere airline travel, trimming trips across the globe to 2 hours.
Boeing Co. agreed to invest $20 million for a minority stake in Virgin Galactic, a startup that is preparing to fly its customers into space next year.
The deal positions the companies to explore the marketplace for airline travel at hypersonic speeds above the Earth’s atmosphere, trimming trips across the globe to two hours or less. Elon Musk’s SpaceX also has announced plans for such flights in the future. Boeing will make the investment through its HorizonX Ventures arm to join the space startup founded by U.K. billionaire Richard Branson. Boeing next year is set to fly its first commercial space customers -- astronauts -- to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s commercial crew program.
Boeing’s investment is contingent on Virgin Galactic going public by year end as part of a merger with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp., which will hold a 49% stake in the merged company. The arrangement to take Virgin Galactic public, announced in July, is designed to raise about $800 million for Branson’s firm.Branson halted talks about a $1-billion investment in Virgin from Saudi Arabia last year after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post.
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