Does Virgin Galactic’s suborbital business still have prospects?
Last week, Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (SPCE) again postponed the start of tourist suborbital flights, despite increased competition. What opportunities did the pioneer of the idea of suborbital tourism have left? In a recent report, Virgin Galactic announced that commercial flights of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital aircraft will begin no earlier than the second quarter of 2023, the second report when the company rescheduled flights a quarter ahead.
Virgin Galactic refers not to problems with supplies and personnel but delays in repairing the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft. An alarming signal is that in the carrier aircraft, the ready-made pylon for the suspension of the suborbital shuttle turned out to be not the same as in the drawings may be a confirmation of the excessive complexity of the entire Virgin Galactic transport system. It should note that now Virgin Galactic has only one carrier and a SpaceShipTwo shuttle ready for flights under the VSS Unity index.
At the same time, the company has already sold 800 tickets out of 1000 flights of the first stage by pre-order. One six-seat aircraft is not enough to quickly fulfill so many orders. It will take more than a hundred flights to realize most of the first stage. At the same time, the main competitor, Blue Origin, performed its sixth suborbital flight for the year last week. The six-seat Blue Origin capsule landed successfully after a quick 10-minute flight. The Blue Origin rocket system features provide a better user experience since it does not require a long ascent on a carrier aircraft. In addition, the Virgin Galactic shuttle requires highly qualified pilots since it lands by gliding without engine thrust.
The Blue Origin capsule parachutes down. Blue Origin has already announced its intention to build more rockets to meet the demand for suborbital tourism. The company successfully attracts customers from different countries. For example, there were passengers from Egypt and Portugal on the last flight. Thus, the company takes away the clientele from Virgin Galactic since not everyone who wants to get a “space” experience plans to fly regularly on different devices. Virgin Galactic’s flight preparation problems may lead to commercial flights starting no earlier than 2024. — the company’s management mentioned this in a recent report.
