Ars: When do you plan to begin manufacturing the Delta ships?Mike Moses: The tooling is being built now. Parts will start coming out by the end of this year, sub-component parts at the vendors. Major assemblies are being delivered, I think, at the middle to end of 2024, and then final assembly in 2025. Were showing first-flight capability at the end of 2025 and then moving into flight test and then into commercial service in 2026.
QuoteArs: When do you plan to begin manufacturing the Delta ships?Mike Moses: The tooling is being built now. Parts will start coming out by the end of this year, sub-component parts at the vendors. Major assemblies are being delivered, I think, at the middle to end of 2024, and then final assembly in 2025. Were showing first-flight capability at the end of 2025 and then moving into flight test and then into commercial service in 2026.https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/08/virgin-galactics-president-explains-how-vss-unity-is-now-flying-frequently/
Virgin Galactic Presents Delta Diaries27 Feb 2024Introducing Delta Diaries: Entries that take you behind the scenes of Virgin Galactic's next-generation Delta spaceship fleet program. In this inaugural entry, Dave Crawford, Vice President, Engineering, talks fleet advancements from within our spaceship innovation lab in Southern California.
Our Delta Spaceship Simulator has landed! More than just a tool for pilot training and evaluation, the Delta SIM plays a pivotal role in ground-testing novel systems for the spaceship. From evaluating cockpit layouts to testing flight controls, this simulator serves as a core component as we advance the development of the Delta spaceship. #DeltaDiaries
Check out a bird’s eye view of our spaceship factory in Phoenix, AZ! This is where our Delta Spaceship Fleet will be assembled. It's also where final ground checkouts will be performed before flight testing. #DeltaDiaries
https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/1763645420704846295QuoteCheck out a bird’s eye view of our spaceship factory in Phoenix, AZ! This is where our Delta Spaceship Fleet will be assembled. It's also where final ground checkouts will be performed before flight testing. #DeltaDiaries
Progress: Our Virgin Galactic Delta class spaceship facility is coming to life. With the main building exceeding two football fields in length, this new facility is where the fleet of Delta spaceships will be built, tested, and flown on their maiden voyage to New Mexico! #DeltaDiaries
Spaceship manufacturing facility now complete! ✅Virgin Galactic has launched a new spaceship factory in Phoenix, Arizona. Final assembly of our Delta spaceships will start in Q1 2025 as planned. An initial team is prepping the facility to receive tooling in Q4 2024. Details →
NEWS • 10/07/24VIRGIN GALACTIC COMPLETES NEW SPACESHIP MANUFACTURING FACILITY IN ARIZONAPurpose-Built Final Assembly Facility for Delta Spaceships Receives Certificate of OccupancySpaceship Assembly Expected to Begin in Q1 2025Orange County, Calif. – (July 10, 2024) – Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) (“Virgin Galactic” or the “Company”) today announced the completion of its new manufacturing facility in Phoenix, Arizona, where final assembly of its next-generation Delta spaceships is scheduled to take place starting in Q1 2025. An initial team of Virgin Galactic technical operations and manufacturing personnel has begun preparing the facility to receive and install tooling, expected to arrive in Q4 2024. The facility will then begin to receive major subassemblies, including the wing, the fuselage, and the feathering system next year, as the team scales to build the first two ships of the Delta fleet. Once ground testing in Phoenix is complete, Virgin Galactic’s mothership will ferry completed spaceships to Spaceport America, New Mexico for flight test ahead of commercial operations, which are expected to begin in 2026. The multiuse facility includes two hangars equipped with multiple bays, designed for maximum flexibility in building and testing space vehicles. Work at the facility will be supported by the Company’s digital twin technology, which enables seamless integration between Virgin Galactic and suppliers through real-time collaboration, promoting strong governance and increased efficiency and reliability. “The completion of our new manufacturing facility is an important milestone in the development of our fleet of next-generation spaceships, the key to our scale and profitability,” said Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier. “Tooling will begin arriving in a matter of months to support spaceship final assembly, which we expect to commence in Q1 2025.” In May 2024, Virgin Galactic opened a ground testing facility in Southern California for Delta subsystems, including avionics, feather actuation, pneumatics, and hydraulics, using an Iron Bird test rig. Virgin Galactic’s Delta spaceships will seat up to six private passengers, and each is expected to be capable of flying up to eight missions per month, dramatically increasing access to space.
Just like Boom Aerospace - building a massive facility even when the business case and the budget haven't closed yet - or never. Ain't that a very bad business plan ?
Virgin Galactic’s Delta class spaceship design is backed by years of engineering and analysis from our talented team. To showcase the magnitude of this endeavor, we invite you to watch here for an overview of our next gen production model spaceship design.Tune into the Q2 2024 earnings call today at 2PM PT to hear more updates on the progress we're making →
We’ve taken some big steps forward on our Delta program! In our latest #DeltaDiaries video, President of Spaceline, Mike Moses, talks us through the large scale tools arriving at Qarbon Aerospace in Georgia.
