Virgin Galactic Delays New Delta Spaceplane’s Spaceflight to 2027

Virgin Galactic, a leader in private space tourism, has postponed testing and the first commercial flight of its new-generation Delta suborbital spacecraft. According to ixbt.com, tests were previously scheduled to begin in the coming months, with the tourism mission planned for the fourth quarter of 2026, but the date has now been moved to no earlier than February 2027. This was reported by Ixbt.com reports .

According to company CEO Michael Colglazier, the change in the flight schedule was caused by technical complications during assembly. Specialists encountered hundreds of minor but important defects during the assembly stage. In some cases, they found that the dimensions of parts differed from the required parameters by only a few thousandths of an inch.

Technical Problems and Additional Inspections

Engineers will need additional time to eliminate all the identified defects and fully inspect the spacecraft’s readiness. Nevertheless, planned ground tests are still scheduled to begin at the end of August this year. This cautious approach is viewed as an important step toward ensuring the safety of future flights.

Despite the delays, Virgin Galactic continues selling tickets for upcoming tourist flights. Since March this year, more than 50 tickets priced at $750,000 each have been sold. As a result, the total booking value has exceeded $50 million, showing that interest in space travel remains high.

Second Spacecraft and Future Plans

Alongside its main projects, the company is currently building a second spacecraft. This second vehicle is planned to enter commercial service in the second quarter of 2027. By the end of that period, Virgin Galactic aims to reach a capacity of up to ten flights per month.

The new vehicle type does not yet have an official name. The company is therefore holding a public vote. Interested people are being offered four name options to choose from: Horizon, Explorer, Ascend or Apeiron as their preferred choice.