Virgin Galactic wins space tourism race to float on stock market

Sir Richard Branson beat Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos by listing his venture in New York

Publicity-hungry billionaires must have a space venture, and here's Sir Richard Branson's: Virgin Galactic is now a stock market-listed company with a $2.4bn valuation. Actual space tourists won't depart until next year, but Branson has beaten Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in getting his business floated in New York.

Galactic, despite the whizzy-looking planes, is quite a simple financial bet. It's a punt that multimillionaires can be persuaded in droves to part with $250,000 - the price of a ticket to ride from New Mexico to 50 miles above the Earth's surface and back. Galactic is projecting revenues of $590m and top-line earnings of $270m in 2023, by which time it expects to have flown 3,242 passengers. Who are they all supposed to be?