Virgin Galactic expects commercial suborbital flights to resume late this year
Virgin Galactic announced that commercial suborbital flights are slated to resume by the end of 2026, with the first next‑generation SpaceShip expected to launch from Spaceport America in New Mexico during the fourth quarter. The company said structural assembly of the new spaceplane, currently in final assembly at a Phoenix‑area factory, will be completed within the next two weeks, allowing ground‑test campaigns to begin in April. After ground testing concludes in July, the vehicle will be rolled out and shipped to the New Mexico launch site. Pilot training on the earlier Unity vehicle will run concurrently at Spaceport America.
Ground‑test activities will evaluate subsystem performance and integrated vehicle behavior, followed by glide tests in the third quarter and a series of powered flights. The first powered flight will be a partial‑duration burn targeting Mach 1 to 1.5, after which two full‑duration burns are planned: the first will carry two pilots and NASA Flight Opportunities research payloads, and the second will carry two pilots plus six company employees to validate cabin experience and operational procedures. The carrier aircraft Eve, upgraded to support 12‑15 launches per month, will transport the SpaceShip aloft; its service life has been extended to at least 2032. Virgin Galactic intends to increase flight cadence from four missions per month initially to eight, and then to ten or more by the second quarter of 2027. Design work on a replacement launch vehicle, LV‑X, is progressing toward a 2030 debut, while ticket sales have reopened for 50 seats at $750,000 each, adding to a backlog of more than 650 customers.
The schedule places Virgin Galactic’s suborbital service alongside NASA’s Flight Opportunities program and positions the company to expand its commercial spaceline capacity ahead of competitors. The planned ramp‑up in launch frequency relies on the upgraded Eve carrier and the experience gained from Unity, aiming to shorten turnaround times between flights. Financial disclosures show $2 million of revenue for 2025, a net loss of $279 million, and $338 million in cash, with a “going concern” warning tempered by expectations of cash inflows from the imminent commercial operations. The company’s ability to deliver the Q4 2026 launch window will be a critical factor in sustaining its customer backlog and securing the projected increase in flight rates.