Virgin Galactic Completes Last Spaceflight Before 2-Year Hiatus To Upgrade Fleet

Virgin Galactic is all set to take its two-year hiatus after successfully completing its last spaceflight following the safe return of Galactic 07.

Virgin Galactic's Last Spaceflight Before 2-Year Break a Success

On Saturday (June 8), Virgin Galactic announced the safe return of Galactic 07 on X, formerly Twitter. It shared a clip of the crewed sub-orbital spaceflight when it arrived at Spaceport America, New Mexico.

"#Galactic07 is back on terra firma, now as astronauts! Our pilots, crew and spaceship have landed safely at Spaceport America, New Mexico," the post read.

On Saturday, Virgin Galactic launched its seventh commercial flight since the company was founded by British industrialist Richard Branson in 2004 and its 12th successful spaceflight.

It was also the last flight of the company's existing spacecraft, the VSS Unity, as it plans to upgrade its fleet. It aims to replace it with two next-generation "Delta class" ships already being built in Arizona. Test flights are scheduled for 2025, and commercial operations will resume in 2026.

As the corporation finally attempts to turn a profit, its future is in jeopardy. Virgin Galactic is running through cash, having lost over US$100 million (S$134 million) in the last two quarters. As of the quarter's conclusion, its reserves were US$867 million.

In late 2023, it laid off 185 employees, or 18% of its workforce. Its shares are trading for 85 US cents, down from US$55 in 2021—the year Branson made headlines worldwide by flying.

Although the Delta ships resemble Unity, they will accommodate six passengers instead of four. In an attempt to turn around its financial situation, the airline states that seat rates would be set at US$600,000, and up to 125 flights per year are anticipated.

Still, some people have doubts. According to The Motley Fool, investors in Virgin Galactic may anticipate holding a stock that generates virtually no revenue for the next 18 to 30 months, assuming everything proceeds according to plan and the Delta program doesn't get delayed.

Virgin Galactic's decision to pause operations for two years isn't new. Its rival, Blue Origin, just resumed crewed flights in May after nearly a two-year hiatus.

About Galactic 07

The Galactic 07 flight window opened on July 8, 2021. It was the company's 12th spaceflight overall and its second of the year.

Virgin Galactic's spacecraft VSS Unity would be transformed into a suborbital science lab, housing a researcher astronaut associated with Axiom Space who will carry out numerous human-tended experiments. Additionally, autonomous payloads from UC Berkeley and Purdue University were aboard, thanks to NASA's Flight Opportunities program.

The mission demonstrated Virgin Galactic's capacity to offer an adaptable microgravity research platform to help advance Earth science and future space exploration programs.

At Virgin Galactic, creativity and discovery are essential to its mission. According to Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic, they were thrilled to build on our successful track record of supporting scientific experiments in suborbital space. They look forward to expanding their role in suborbital research in the future.

Four hybrid research and private astronauts were onboard Galactic 07. The crew also included VSS Unity Commander Nicola Pecile and pilot Jameel Janjua and VMS Eve Commander Andy Edgell and pilot C.J. Sturckow.

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