Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic again delays start of commercial suborbital flights
Virgin Galactic has once again pushed back the start of commercial flights of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane, saying upgrades of its carrier aircraft are taking longer than expected.
Virgin Galactic selects Arizona for spaceplane manufacturing facility
Virgin Galactic announced July 14 plans to assemble a fleet of suborbital spaceplanes in a new factory in a suburb of Phoenix.
Virgin Galactic selects Aurora Flight Sciences to build new motherships
Virgin Galactic announced July 6 it signed an agreement with a Boeing subsidiary to build two new aircraft that will be used as launch platforms for its next-generation suborbital spaceplanes.
Virgin Galactic pushes back commercial suborbital flights to 2023
Virgin Galactic is again postponing the start of commercial service of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane from late 2022 to early 2023, blaming the latest delay on supply chain and labor issues.
Virgin Galactic on schedule to start commercial human suborbital flights this year
Virgin Galactic executives said Feb. 22 that they remain on schedule to begin commercial human suborbital missions before the end of the year but acknowledged it will take several years for the company to become profitable.
State Fight: New Mexico’s growing reputation as a space state
New Mexico was not often in the conversation about key space states until Virgin Galactic named Spaceport America its flight operations center in 2009.
Blue Origin to increase New Shepard launches in 2022
Blue Origin expects to more than double the number of people it flies on its New Shepard suborbital system this year while adding another vehicle to its fleet.
FAA to end commercial astronaut wings program
The Federal Aviation Administration will stop awarding commercial astronaut wings at the end of this year, five months after it revised the criteria for receiving the wings.
Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic select astronauts for future flights
Virgin Galactic has selected the winner of a contest to fly on a future SpaceShipTwo suborbital flight while Blue Origin prepares for its first New Shepard launch with a full six-person crew.
Virgin Galactic adds 100 customers after resuming ticket sales
Virgin Galactic executives said they’ve seen strong interest from customers as the company restarts sales of tickets on its suborbital vehicles, even though those customers may have an extended wait until they fly.
Virgin Galactic postpones SpaceShipTwo flight, begins maintenance period
Virgin Galactic will postpone a SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceflight that had been scheduled for this month, electing to instead immediately begin an extended maintenance period for the spaceplane and its carrier aircraft that will further delay the start of commercial flights.
FAA clears Virgin Galactic to resume SpaceShipTwo flights
The FAA said Sept. 29 that it completed its investigation into a problem on Virgin Galactic’s most recent SpaceShipTwo flight, allowing the company to resume flights of the suborbital spaceplane.
UN secretary-general criticizes “billionaires joyriding to space”
The secretary-general of the United Nations lumped space tourism alongside corruption and loss of freedoms as part of a “malady of mistrust” facing the world, another sign of the backlash in some quarters to private human spaceflight.
Potential component defect to delay next Virgin Galactic flight
Virgin Galactic is further delaying its next SpaceShipTwo suborbital flight in order to check a potential issue the company says is unrelated to an ongoing FAA investigation.
FAA grounds SpaceShipTwo after problem on July flight
The Federal Aviation Administration will not allow Virgin Galactic to resume flights of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane until it completes an investigation into a problem on the vehicle’s previous flight in July.
Will suborbital space tourism take a suborbital trajectory?
The era of commercial suborbital human spaceflight may finally be here, but whether it lasts isn’t certain, and neither is its importance.
Virgin Galactic resumes ticket sales but delays start of commercial service
Virgin Galactic announced Aug. 5 it is restarting ticket sales at significantly higher prices but won’t begin flying its existing suborbital space tourism customers until the second half of next year.
FAA revises criteria for commercial astronaut wings
The FAA has revised its criteria for awarding astronaut wings to those flying on commercial spacecraft, making the requirements stricter while including a significant loophole.
Virgin Galactic, Branson laud SpaceShipTwo flight “beyond my wildest dreams”
Virgin Galactic and its founder, Richard Branson, hailed a successful test flight by the company’s SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane that carried him and five others to suborbital space, but offered few new details about the company’s future plans.
Branson flies to edge of space on SpaceShipTwo
Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson and five other people flew to the edge of space on the company’s SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle July 11, the culmination of an effort that started nearly 17 years ago.
