Virgin Galactic Announces Unity 23 Flight Delays Due To Manufacturing Defect

Unity 22's flight, which was a success but is considered to be on a save flight path according to the FAA. (photo: twitter)

JAKARTA - Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc on Friday, September 10 announced it was postponing its first commercial research mission with the Italian Air Force until mid-October due to a potential manufacturing defect.

The company also linked the postponement of the mission, named "Unity 23", to a pending investigation resolution by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Virgin Galactic said on Friday that a third-party supplier had warned of a potential manufacturing defect in a flight control system component during flight test preparations.

"At this time, it is not known if there are any defects in the company's vehicles and if there are, what repair work may be required", the company said, adding that it was conducting inspections with vendors.

The original mission had been set in late September or early October to carry three paying crew members from the Italian Air Force and the Rome-based government agency, the National Research Council.

The FAA is investigating the flight that took billionaire Richard Branson into space in July. The FAA last week banned SpaceShipTwo flights until the agency approves the final crash report or determines that the issue does not affect public safety.