Virgin Galactic pushes back new spaceship's first commercial flight to 2027
Virgin Galactic says assembly problems have delayed the debut commercial flight of its new Delta-class spaceship from late 2026 to February 2027 at the earliest. The company says its finances remain solid thanks to over $50 million in already-sold tickets.
Virgin Galactic has announced that the first commercial flight of its next-generation "Delta class" spaceship will not happen this year as originally planned, but no earlier than February 2027. The company halted its suborbital tourism flights in 2024 after seven successful commercial trips in order to focus fully on developing the new vehicle.
The debut commercial flight had originally been scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026, following months of testing. However, CEO Michael Colglazier said during an earnings call, as reported by SpaceNews, that assembly of the new ship ran into hundreds of relatively small but important installation issues. He described instances where components were off by just a few thousandths of an inch from their intended specifications. The extra time, he said, will allow the team to fix these issues and ensure the vehicle is properly built.
The company plans to begin ground testing on the vehicle later this month. Despite the delay, Colglazier expressed confidence in the company's financial position, noting that more than 50 tickets priced at $750,000 each have been sold since March, generating over $50 million in bookings.
Second spaceship already in production
A second vehicle of the same class is already being built and is expected to begin commercial flights in the second quarter of 2027. Colglazier said the company aims to reach a pace of 10 flights per month by the end of that quarter.
The new spaceship still doesn't have a name — Virgin Galactic has launched a public poll letting people choose between four options: Horizon, Explorer, Ascend and Apeiron.
