An open letter signed by more than 600 people has urged suborbital flight provider Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE) to reduce spending and to lay off employees in order to conserve cash and raise the company’s low share price.

Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE) capped off nearly 19 years of effort by flying its first commercial mission with paying customers from Spaceport American in New Mexico on Thursday (June 29). However, while the VSS Unity rocket plane soared into the heavens on a research flight, the company’s stock declined by almost 11 percent.

Virgin Galactic will launch its first ever suborbital flight with paying customers on Thursday, June 29, when it launches three Italian researchers on the Galactic 01 mission.

Virgin Galactic’s plan to fly SpaceShipTwo’s first commercial suborbital flight next week falls near the anniversary of the first spaceflight by its predecessor, SpaceShipOne, on June 21, 2004. Here’s a look back at that day nearly two decades ago.

The temperature was still hovering around 90 degrees Fahrenheit in Mojave when the summer solstice arrived at 5:57 PM on June 20, 2004. The weather in the High Desert was a marked change from the chilly and overcast Los Angeles that we had left the day before. The LA Basin was in the middle of June Gloom, a weather phenomenon where a marine layer that normally stays offshore moves inland to block out the sun, sending temperatures plunging.

Capping nearly 19 years of effort, Virgin Galactic has announced a June 27 to 30 launch window for the maiden commercial flight of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital rocket plane. The company will conduct the launch, which is being dubbed “Galactic 01,” from Spaceport America in New Mexico.

Virgin Galactic is set to conduct the first suborbital flight of its VSS Unity spacecraft in nearly two years on May 25. The flight test, to be held at Spaceport America in New Mexico will be the final one before the company begins carrying paying passengers late next month.

Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE) released its earnings report after trading hours ended on Tuesday that revealed its net loss widened from $93.1 million to $159.4 million in the first quarter as the suborbital space tourism company ramped up spending to expand its vehicle fleet and prepared for its first revenue-generating passenger flight in late June.

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity flew for the first time since July 2021 on Wednesday as the suborbital tourism vehicle made a glide flight test at Spaceport America in New Mexico.

NASA has nixed the idea of suborbital training flights for its astronauts aboard vehicles launched by Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic.

Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier had reason to be upbeat during the company’s earnings call last week. The company’s mothership, VMS Eve, had flown back to Spaceport America the day before following a 16-month overhaul at the Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field in California.