Virgin Galactic moves first Delta-class spaceship to New Mexico

Virgin Galactic has completed the assembly of Apeiron, its first next-generation Delta-class spaceship, at its Mesa, Arizona factory. On October 28, 2026, the vehicle was transported via a captive-carry flight beneath the VMS Eve mothership from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport to Spaceport America in New Mexico for final testing.

Apeiron, named via a public vote involving participants from 83 countries, is designed to carry six passengers and support a high-frequency flight schedule of up to two missions per week. Each Delta-class vehicle is engineered for a lifetime of more than 500 missions.

The company is now focused on avionics software integration and validation. Commercial passenger flights for Apeiron are currently targeted for early Q2 2027, with a second Delta-class spaceship expected to enter service later in 2027.