After two years of quiet, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is ready to return to business. The company announced it will resume operations with the new space plane Delta next year. CEO Michael Colglazier said in a report call yesterday (May 15) that research is planned for the summer and then private astronaut missions in the fall.
Virgin Galactic reported a net loss of $84 million in the January-March quarter, an improvement from the $102 million loss last year. The company's stock soared 48% today in response to the news. Its stock has fallen 75% over the past year.
The company offers a 90-minute off-orbit flight from the New Mexico Space Port, reaching an altitude of about 55 miles and providing passengers with views of the earth and brief weightlessness. In mid-2024, Virgin Galactic suspended flights on its VSS Unity spacecraft to focus on developing the delta.
According to its earnings report, revenue in the first quarter was only $460,000, mainly from “access fees related to our astronaut community.” Prospective passengers must pay a non-refundable $50,000 membership fee as part of the deposit for the reserved seat.
Colglazier said ticket prices for Delta flights are not yet completed, but may exceed the $600,000 collected from previous missions. Virgin Galactic's main rival, Blue Origin, charges $0 to $30 million for its suborbital tourism flights.
The Delta space plane can carry six passengers – four passengers from the earlier unified spacecraft and feature a rocket motor for quick change, enabling faster turnaround times. Although Virgin Galactic has conducted seven unified flights between 2023 and 2024, it plans to operate up to 125 Delta flights per year. The company expects to clear its current backlog of nearly 700 customers within one year.
With the beginning of the Delta era, Virgin Galactic is also ready to welcome new customers. “We expect most of the people who will join the first wave will be new customers,” Colglazier said, despite some repetitive flyers. The CEO said three private astronauts on the company's June 2024 flight had booked seats in the Delta.
Virgin Galactic is currently being assembled in the first two delta spacecraft near Phoenix, Arizona. While most of its supply chains are based in the U.S., Colglazier said the material purchased internationally is mostly purchased in advance, thus protecting the project from new tariffs under the Trump administration. “Most of the meaningful spending that may bear tariffs have been purchased,” he noted.
