Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Image credit: Virgin Galactic/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Virgin Galactic announced today that the lead Spaceship of its next-generation fleet is set to fly to its operations base at Spaceport America, New Mexico on October 28.

The Spaceship, mated to launch vehicle Eve for a captive-carry flight, will depart the company’s Spaceship Factory in Mesa, Arizona.

The arrival marks the transition from vehicle assembly to the start of flight test preparations.

Virgin Galactic is set to also reveal the ship’s new name, selected through a global voting campaign.

“The arrival of the lead spaceship in the Delta class fleet at Spaceport America marks the transition to the start of flight test preparations for Virgin Galactic,” the group explained in a press statement.

Credit: Virgin Galactic

Maiden spaceflight of Virgin Galactic’s new Delta SpaceShip carrying research payloads is planned for 2027.
Image credit: Virgin Galactic

What next?

Flight of the first commercial suborbital trek is now expected in early Quarter 2 2027.

The second Spaceship is expected to begin commercial spaceflight operations in late Q2/early Q3 2027.

“The updated timeline reflects additional time for completing avionics software integration and validation, which uses an exhaustive testing process,” explains Virgin Galactic.

With the lead Spaceship repositioned to its operations base in New Mexico, the group’s two-ship commercial spaceflight operations are expected by early Q3 2027.

Lastly, Virgin Galactic is moving more than 100 members of its ready-for-flight astronauts into their first phase of readiness and preparation, with additional suborbital flyers expected to follow on a rolling basis.