The flight, called Galactic 01, will include researchers from the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council of Italy, the company said late Thursday. It will mark the beginning of commercial operations for Virgin Galactic after numerous delays, and pave the way for the hundreds of space tourists who previously bought six-figure tickets to finally fly on the company's ships.

Its shares jumped 30% at 9:48 a.m. Friday in New York after an earlier gain of 47%, the biggest intraday advance since Virgin Galactic went public in 2019 through a reverse merger.

The announcement of a specific date is a "major milestone" even though it's in line with what the company had previously indicated, KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Michael Leshock said in a note. The stock strength could indicate a mix of short-covering and investors making up for weakness in the shares after the last test flight, he added.