Virgin Galactic Postpones All Flight And Test Schedules This Year, Resumes Q4 2022

Unity 22 when it took Richard Branson into space last July. (photo: youtube screenshot)

JAKARTA - Space exploration firm Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc said Thursday that Oct. 14 it was suspending commercial space travel services until the fourth quarter of 2022. Nor will it undertake any more test flights planned for this year.

"Commercial services are now expected to commence in Q4 2022," said a Virgin Galactic source. As a result of this statement, the company's shares fell 13% in after-hours trading.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on September 2 banned Virgin Galactic from flying SpaceShipTwo pending completion of reports on the flight of Virgin Galactic's rocket plane that brought British billionaire Richard Branson to the edge of space.

Branson was among six Virgin Galactic employees who took part in the July flight, flying more than 50 miles (80 km) into space.

The FAA on September 29 closed its "accidental" investigation into the launch of Virgin Galactic Unity 22 on July 11, which it said deviated from designated airspace at the time of descent, and lifted a previously imposed no-fly order.

Virgin Galactic said in September that it was planning another SpaceShipTwo flight from New Mexico, Unity 23, pending technical and weather checks. The company said last month the earliest it expected "to open its flight window for Unity 23 is mid-October."

But Virgin Galactic last Thursday said it will now begin its planned upgrade program in advance and will conduct Unity 23 test flights once this work is complete and before commencing commercial service.

The upgrade program is designed to improve vehicle performance and flight-level capabilities.

The company said last Thursday a recent laboratory-based test "marked a possible reduction in the strength margin of certain materials used to modify certain joints."

The company added "the new lab test data has no impact on the vehicle, our test flight protocol has a clear margin of strength, and further analysis will assess whether additional work is needed to keep it at or above the set level."