Spaceport America, New Mexico: VMS Eve, a carrier aircraft carrying VSS Unity, takes off with VMS Eve.
After a thorough investigation into the spaceflight which carried Sir Richard Branson, the Federal Aviation Administration cleared Virgin Galactic for flight.
After the FAA discovered that the company's satellite had erred during its July 11 mission, the regulator grounded operations of the space tourism company.
"The investigation revealed that the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo vehicle departed from its assigned airspace during its descent from space," FAA stated in a statement. It also said that Virgin Galactic had failed to disclose the deviation as required.
The FAA stated that Virgin Galactic made "required modifications" to its communications during spaceflight operations. According to Virgin Galactic, it has made "required changes" to its calculations in order "to expand the protected aviation space" on future missions and also taken "additional measures" to ensure that the FAA receives "real time mission notifications."
Virgin Galactic shares rose as high as 10% after-hours trading, compared to its closing price of $22.56
"We are grateful to the FAA for their thorough investigation of this inquiry. Our test flight program was specifically designed to improve our processes. In a press release, Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier stated that the updates to our airspace and real time mission notification protocols will help us strengthen our preparations for the commercial launch.
