The last, best hope for space tourism just rolled onto a runway in Arizona
Summary
Virgin Galactic moved its first Delta-class spacecraft, named Apeiron, from its factory in Mesa, Arizona, to Spaceport America in New Mexico. The company says it expects Apeiron’s first commercial flight to take place in early in the second quarter of 2027, after further ground and flight tests.Key Facts
- Virgin Galactic selected the name Apeiron through a public vote.
- The company plans to finish Apeiron’s avionics and flight software work at Spaceport America.
- The planned test sequence includes ground tests, captive-carry tests, a drop test and a powered flight above 80 kilometers.
- Virgin Galactic said in 2024 that it planned to put two Delta-class spacecraft into service by 2026; neither was in service at the time described in the article.
- Virgin Galactic’s last flight with its VSS Unity spacecraft took place in June 2024.
- Blue Origin’s New Shepard program was paused after its last flight in January, and its engineering teams shifted to other programs.
- SpaceX flew its final free-flyer Dragon mission, Fram2, in April 2025.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
