Shares of Virgin Galactic gain 15.9% due to NASA agreement

Virgin Galactic's shares surged 15.9 percent to close at $17.39 after it signed an agreement with NASA's Johnson Space Center to train astronauts for trips to the International Space Station.

Under the "Space Act Agreement," Virgin Galactic will develop a "private orbital astronaut readiness program," similar to what it does to prepare tourists for space flights.

According to Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides, the program will not only allow the publicly traded company to use its spaceflight platform but also offer its space training infrastructure to NASA and other agencies.

Virgin Galactic, primarily owned by founder Richard Branson and chairman Chamath Palihapitiya, has 603 reservations for private passengers to fly to space.

The majority of those tickets were sold for $200,000 to $250,000 per person.

The company is still at the testing stage at the company's operating base in New Mexico, toward providing its first flight of a paying customer.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said that the agency would provide more details this week.