Virgin Galactic has unveiled the design for its Delta-class spacecraft.
The suborbital Space tourism The company released a video on Wednesday (August 7) showing an animation of the Delta design, which is sleek and modular and features components designed to provide new efficiencies in manned spaceflight.
Virgin Galactic says it is new Delta ships will be built to be ready for use with an average turnaround time of just three days, which the company says would represent a huge breakthrough and structurally change the cost of manned space travel. Its previous spacecraft, VSS unitcould fly once a month.
The new spacecraft is powered by a hybrid rocket system and, compared to the old spacecraft, offers space for six passengers instead of four.
Delta’s first flight is scheduled for 2026 at the earliest, but the company says it is making good progress with the design work.
“Progress on our Delta-class spacecraft program was significant in the second quarter, with the pace of design completion accelerating and tooling underway,” Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said in an Aug. 7 interview with Reuters. opinion along with the company’s second quarter financial results.
“Over the next month, our teams will shift their primary focus from design completion to the construction and testing phases of our production spacecraft, which remain on track to begin commercial operations in 2026.”
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The company plans to generate revenue of $450 million per year in the years after the first two Delta spacecraft enter service. The video also outlines plans for up to five ships in the future at spaceports around the world.
The last flight of the previous space plane, VSS Unity, took place in June. Virgin Galactic then focused on its Delta plans.
Virgin Galactic reached a major milestone in its plans for new-generation spacecraft last month. The company completed a new Delta spaceplane production facility in Mesa, Arizona in July.
