Virgin Galactic’s hopes of launching touring jets into space this year were overshadowed by an engine failure in December 2020, which pushed the test flight schedule. According to recent reports, the company has abandoned the original plan and postponed the start of tourist flights into space until next year.
The company’s CEO said that the next rocket-powered test flight will not take place until May, that is, about six months after the previous attempt.
Previously, the next test flights were expected to take place in the summer, including one with four passengers in the cabin. The first “profitable” one with the pilots of the Italian Air Force was supposed to be performed in summer or autumn. After that, the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft and the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft had a four-month upgrade.
The delay will hit the company’s finances. Although it now has about $ 666 million, it had a net loss of $ 74 million in the last quarter of last year. In other words, there is still a margin of safety, but it is not too great and the company cannot afford further technical problems.
But there is good news as well. The company has confirmed that it will unveil its next spacecraft, SpaceShip 3, on March 30.
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