Virgin Galactic announced that commercial flights of its new suborbital spacecraft will not begin before February 2027, after the company had expected last May to begin them during the fourth quarter of 2026. Company officials said during an earnings call for the second quarter on August 12 that the delay was not related to one major problem, but rather to the accumulation of limited schedule extensions across hundreds of small tasks important to the spacecraft’s assembly process.
Accumulation of Assembly Issues
Michael Colglazier, Virgin Galactic’s chief executive officer, said that when some components were assembled, they were a few thousandths of an inch longer or shorter than expected. These cases require review to determine whether the difference falls within allowable design limits or requires modifications.
Colglazier explained that the number of cases in which components did not fit perfectly was greater than the time allocated for them, leading to an accumulation of delays, and that this trend accelerated at the end of July. He added that the team needed additional time to complete the work properly, noting that assembly work was nearing completion.
Ground testing of the integrated spacecraft is expected to begin later in August, according to the revised schedule. After that, the company intends to transport the spacecraft to Spaceport America in New Mexico during October to begin a series of flight tests.
Funding and Target Flight Rate
Virgin Galactic increased its workforce to complete assembly work and is currently operating two shifts seven days a week. Doug Ahrens, the company’s chief financial officer, said these measures would lead to a temporary increase in capital expenditures during the third quarter, but he does not expect major changes to the company’s financial outlook.
The company is also working on producing a second spacecraft, which is expected to enter service during the second quarter. Virgin Galactic aims to reach a rate of at least 10 flights per month by the end of that quarter, while achieving positive quarterly cash flow during 2027.
The company raised $134 million from stock sales through an at-the-market offering during the second quarter, its final planned sale using this mechanism. It ended the quarter with $286 million in cash and cash equivalents. Ahrens said this amount would be sufficient to reach the start of commercial service, while noting that the company might later seek to raise funds to accelerate the growth of its fleet.
Ticket Demand and Higher Prices
Virgin Galactic also announced the closing of sales for a tranche of tickets priced at $750,000 per ticket, the tranche it announced in March. The company initially planned to sell 50 tickets, but strong demand prompted it to sell additional tickets, bringing the total value of bookings for this tranche to more than $50 million.
The new group of customers includes diverse groups, ranging from multigenerational flights to research missions, corporate bookings, and bookings for nonprofit organizations. Colglazier said the company would open a new round of ticket sales later this year at a higher price that it has not disclosed.
He indicated that demand for suborbital flights was strong and that each new ticket tranche would be offered at a higher price than the previous tranche. He cited unofficial evidence that Blue Origin had sold flights on its New Shepard spacecraft at prices ranging from $1 million to $2 million per ticket, although the company had not disclosed prices before suspending New Shepard flights in January for at least two years.