Virgin Galactic officials say they intend to ask investors for $300 million to build two additional Delta-type spaceplanes and a next-generation carrier aircraft. They state that plans to begin commercial operation of other vehicles of this type as early as 2026 will not be affected.
Virgin Galactic
Executives at Virgin Galactic, known for its suborbital space flights, propose that investors invest an additional $300 million to build two additional Delta-type spaceplanes.
At the same time, they assure that the development and construction of the first two vehicles of this type is on schedule and under the planned budget. As soon as 2026, they should start making regular suborbital flights and ensure the construction of the next vehicles in this way.
Virgin Galactic states that all of these plans remain in place. They now just have the opportunity to accelerate future work so that the additional vehicles will start operating as early as 2028, which is two years earlier than currently planned.
In addition, the company plans to use the money to build a second aircraft carrier. It is intended to replace VMS Eve, which has been used for SpaceShipTwo launches so far and will continue to be used with the first two Delta shuttles. The development of this new aircraft will use most of the funds raised.
Construction of the Delta spaceplane
Design of the new carrier aircraft is expected to begin in 2025. Production will start in 2026, testing will start in 2027, and in 2028, it will be used for commercial tourist flights.
According to reports, the new carrier will be built at the same facilities as Delta. However, Virgin Galactic has a long trail of scandals behind its design. Aurora Flight Sciences, a subsidiary of Boeing, initially engaged in this, but this collaboration ended with a lawsuit against them.
Virgin Galactic and Boeing had a long legal battle over who owed whom, but that conflict is now considered to be over. The main contractors for Delta design are now Bell Textron and Qarbon Aerospace, and they have allegedly made significant progress. Assembly of the spaceplane will begin in the first quarter of 2025, and in the second half of next year, it should be rolled out of the hangar to begin ground testing.
Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic’s financial affairs are rather peculiar. In the third quarter of this year, it reported $405,000 in revenue and a $74.5 million net loss. However, at the same time, it still has 744 million.
Provided by spacenews.com
