Virgin Galactic spacecraft Unity fires its engine and heads to space with its first test passenger on board in February 2019. Virgin Galactic | gif by @thesheetztweetz | CNBC

Private space tourism is about to go public. Shareholders approved Virgin Galactic's merger with one of Chamath Palihapitiya's ventures on Wednesday, according to SEC filings, setting up the space tourism company to list directly on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. Virgin Galactic will become the first human spaceflight company to trade on public markets.

VSS Unity First Powered Flight, April 5, 2018 Virgin Galactic

The merger was announced in July, with Palihapitiya's Social Capital Hedosophia taking a 49% stake in Virgin Galactic. The merger gives the combined company a valuation of $1.5 billion, with Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson retaining a 51% controlling stake. Palihapitiya's company already trades on the NYSE, under the ticker IPOA. The filing said the company expects the merger with Virgin to close on Friday. After the closing, the shares will trade under the ticker symbol SPCE at the NYSE on Monday.