Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is ready to return to business after two quiet years. The company announced it will resume operations next year with its new spaceplane, Delta. A research flight is scheduled for the summer, followed by private astronaut missions in the fall, CEO Michael Colglazier said during an earnings call yesterday (May 15).
Virgin Galactic reported a net loss of $84 million for the January-March quarter, an improvement from last year’s $102 million loss. The company’s shares surged by 48 percent today in response to the news. Its stock is down 75 percent in the past year.
The company offers 90-minute suborbital flights from a New Mexico spaceport, reaching altitudes of about 55 miles and giving passengers views of Earth and brief weightlessness. In mid-2024, Virgin Galactic paused flights on its VSS Unity spacecraft to focus on developing Delta.
Revenue for the first quarter totaled just $460,000, mostly from “access fees related to our astronaut community,” according to its earnings report. Prospective passengers must pay a non-refundable $50,000 membership fee as part of their deposit to reserve a seat.
Colglazier said ticket prices for Delta flights haven’t been finalized but will likely exceed the $600,000 charged for previous missions. Virgin Galactic’s primary competitor, Blue Origin, charges anywhere between zero to $30 million for its suborbital tourist flights.
The Delta spaceplane can carry six passengers—up from four on the earlier Unity spacecraft—and features a rocket motor designed for quick replacement, enabling faster turnaround times. While Virgin Galactic conducted seven Unity 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 a year.
As the Delta era begins, Virgin Galactic is also preparing to welcome new clients. “We expect the majority of people who will join in this first wave will be new customers,” Colglazier said, though some repeat flyers are expected. Three private astronauts from the company’s June 2024 flight have already booked seats on Delta, the CEO said.
Virgin Galactic is currently assembling its first two Delta spacecraft near Phoenix, Ariz. While most of its supply chain is U.S.-based, Colglazier said materials sourced internationally were largely purchased in advance, shielding the project from new tariffs enacted under the Trump administration. “Most of the meaningful expenditures that could have been subject to tariffs have already been purchased,” he noted.
