Virgin Galactic‘s newest spacecraft is set to become a reality next year.
Founded by Richard Branson in 2004, the space company confirmed plans to Bloomberg of their first flight to space set for 2026. For the project, a revamped Delta spacecraft transforms into the Virgin Galactic to takeoff for its first suborbital trip in two years since the company’s last trip to space in June 2024.
This March marks the the beginning of the Delta spacecraft being prepped for civilian space travel. The six-person spacecraft, two more than the previous aircrafts, is said to be upgraded and have a faster turnaround between trips. The ticket prices are estimated to be $600,000 USD a seat and currently the company has a wait list of 700 ticket holders. Virgin Galactic’s first completed commercial space flight was on the VSS Unity in June 2023. It took off from New Mexico and landed 90 minutes later. The company has since completed 12 successful space flights. For the 2026 Virgin Galactic mission, the spacecraft is said to research cargo first.
Branson remains steady in the billionaires’ space race. Jeff Bezo’s Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX have long competed alongside Branson on the space tourism race. Blue Origin recently launched the New Shepard earlier this week while SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission has successfully executed the world’s first civilian spacewalk.
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