From Ars Technica · · 1m 50s
Virgin Galactic's Apeiron rolls out as space tourism's last hope
With Blue Origin and SpaceX out of the suborbital tourism business, Virgin Galactic's new Delta-class spacecraft represents the only near-term path to flying paying customers to space.
In brief
With Blue Origin and SpaceX out of the suborbital tourism business, Virgin Galactic's new Delta-class spacecraft represents the only near-term path to flying paying customers to space. Virgin Galactic moved its first Delta-class spacecraft, Apeiron, to New Mexico for final assembly, with commercial flights expected in…
Space tourism's golden age is over
Blue Origin's New Shepard paused in January after ten months without flying. SpaceX flew its last Dragon tourism mission in April twenty twenty-five. Virgin Galactic's final suborbital flight was June twenty twenty-four.
Blue Origin moved on to bigger rockets
New Shepard's engineering teams now support the New Glenn rocket and Blue Moon lander programs. The company has effectively abandoned suborbital space tourism.
SpaceX's Starship has no human timeline
SpaceX retired Dragon for tourism after April twenty twenty-five. Remaining missions will carry at least one government astronaut. There is no credible timeline for Starship to fly humans from Earth.
Apeiron gets its name and moves
Virgin Galactic named its first Delta-class spacecraft Apeiron, chosen through public vote from the ancient Greek concept of the boundless. On Wednesday it moved from Mesa, Arizona to Spaceport America in New Mexico.
“We're proud that the lead ship in Virgin Galactic's Spaceship fleet will carry a name chosen by the people who share our excitement for what comes next.”
Months of testing lie ahead
Apeiron will undergo avionics and software completion, ground tests, captive carry tests with aircraft VMS Eve, a drop test, and a powered test flight above eighty kilometres before commercial service.
Commercial flights expected early twenty twenty-seven
Virgin Galactic expects Apeiron's first commercial spaceflight in early second quarter twenty twenty-seven. Success requires flying nearly flawlessly with unprecedented durability to bring hundreds of people to space each year.
Virgin Galactic is space tourism's only hope
The company's stock fell from one thousand one hundred eighteen dollars in twenty twenty-one to two dollars fifty recently.
The one thing
Virgin Galactic moved its first Delta-class spacecraft, Apeiron, to New Mexico for final assembly, with commercial flights expected in early twenty twenty-seven, as Blue Origin and SpaceX have abandoned space tourism.
