spacetoday.net: Virgin Galactic slightly delays resumption of commercial flights

Posted: Sat, Aug 9, 2025, 11:05 AM ET (1505 GMT)
Virgin Galactic is pushing back slightly its schedule for commercial suborbital spaceflights using its new Delta-class spaceplane. The company said Wednesday that flights with research payloads, previously set to begin next summer, will start in the fall, with private astronaut missions starting later in the fall. Virgin said the change was because of problems producing part of the spaceplane’s fuselage. Virgin also said it is continuing design work on a new aircraft called LV-X that will carry the spaceship. The plane will be similar in design to its existing VMS Eve plane but the company is working on a study with Lawrence Livermore National Lab to examine potential other uses of the aircraft.