Virgin Galactic has faced numerous challenges and setbacks during its journey towards commercial spaceflight. The company conducted its fifth spaceflight, and final pre-commercial flight test, in late May. Delays and incidents along the way have hindered progress, including the tragic crash of the VSS Enterprise in 2014, which temporarily halted Virgin’s spaceflight efforts. However, the company resumed testing in late 2016 with the successful glide test of VSS Unity. It achieved its first trip to space in 2018 but had to wait until 2021 to complete its inaugural fully crewed spaceflight with Richard Branson aboard. Commercial service has faced multiple delays, including recent issues with upgrading the VMS Eve “mothership” responsible for carrying SpaceShipTwo vehicles to launch altitude.
The commencement of commercial operations is a crucial milestone for Virgin Galactic’s business. The company has incurred significant losses over the years, with a reported loss of over $500 million in 2022 alone. While the commercial spaceflights priced at $450,000 per ticket won’t immediately offset these investments, they will provide a substantial revenue stream for Virgin Galactic moving forward.
It’s worth noting that while this marks Virgin Galactic’s entry into space tourism, it still lags behind Blue Origin in terms of commercial operations. However, the launch of Galactic 01 puts Virgin Galactic ahead of SpaceX, as Elon Musk’s company’s Starship rocket is yet to reach space and is not expected to conduct its first lunar tourist flights until late 2024, at the earliest. Although Virgin Galactic may be less ambitious than SpaceX, it is undoubtedly achieving its goals sooner.
