Virgin Galactic has announced that its business house tourism service has been delayed but once more, from the top of this 12 months till Q2 2023. During its earnings report, the corporate stated that the delay is “due to the extended completion dates [i.e., delays] within the mothership enhancement program.”
The mothership VMS Eve is a vital a part of its launch system, carrying the VSS Unity spacecraft to 50,000 ft earlier than it launches to the sting of house. The enhancement program launched July seventh with the aim of enhancing flight frequency, together with “reliability, predictability and durability.”
At the identical time it revealed the updates, Virgin Galactic introduced that Boeing’s Aurora Flight Sciences will design and manufacture its next-gen motherships, anticipated to enter service in 2025. The firm can be engaged on a brand new spaceship, the VSS Imagine, set to make a debut check flight in Q1 2023.
Virgin Galactic had already delayed its first paid flights from Q3 to This autumn 2022 out of an “abundance of caution” resulting from a doable flight management system situation. The subsequent flight was speculated to launch three Italian Air Force members to the sting of house, to check the results of transitioning from common Earth gravity to microgravity on each people and the setting. Yesterday, the corporate reported a $111 million quarterly loss and plans a $300 million inventory providing.
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