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.
George Nield, who led the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation, talks about managing the risks of private space travel without harming innovation.
Ferrying VMS Eve to Spaceport America clears the way for initial glide and powered tests of the refurbished SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity over the coming months.
If schedules hold, Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson will fly nine days ahead of fellow billionaire entrepreneur and space buff Jeff Bezos, founder and funder of Blue Origin.