Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity flew into suborbital space and back on June 8, bringing an end to the company’s commercial flight services until its Delta-class spacecraft debuts.
Virgin Galactic is investigating the loss of a part of the mechanism connecting VSS Unity with the carrier aircraft VMS Eve during a commercial spaceflight.
Performance benefits of Unity upgrades that were proved last year will feed into Delta spaceship design as belt-tightening forces cuts in near-term flight rate.
Suborbital space tourism provider Virgin Galactic is laying off workers to fund production of the Delta variant of its spaceships, the company said late Nov. 7.
Virgin Galactic’s suborbital spaceship conducted a third commercial mission on Sept. 8, but did not livestream or release the passengers' names before takeoff.
Virgin Galactic's spaceplane VSS Unity’s cockpit and structure were enhanced for higher-tempo operations and were tested in June on its first commercial flight.
