(NewsNation) — Air travelers will soon have a new way to fly — to space.

Virgin Galactic announced positive fourth-quarter earnings this year, keeping the aerospace company on track to launch commercial flights next year.

“We’ve reached an exciting stage in our SpaceShip program, with our production checklist growing shorter by the week and our first commercial spaceflight continuing to track for Q4 2026,” said Michael Colglazier, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Galactic, in a statement Thursday.

Virgin Galactic has provided space travel services for private individuals, but this will be the first time it will offer commercial flights.

Preparations are already underway, and tickets are expected to go on sale in the first few months of 2026.

Virgin Galactic will conduct private astronaut flights six to eight weeks after the first research flights.

“We expect most of our current customers will take their space journey during 2027, as our launch vehicle’s bolstered flight rate capability, combined with the quick turn time expected from our first two SpaceShips, should allow us to ramp spaceflight capacity fairly quickly,” Colglazier said.

The existing private space flight tickets cost $600,000 per person, but it’s unclear how much a ticket will cost on a commercial flight.