Virgin Galactic Touches Down on Manufacturing Facility
Global aerospace manufacturing is a multi-billion-dollar industry, with leading nations such as the United States, France and the UK producing advanced aircraft and spacecraft.
As of 2023, the global aerospace market was valued at approximately US$408.9bn, reflecting the sector's pivotal role in innovation and economic growth.
Virgin Galactic is a significant player in this industry, pioneering human spaceflight for both individuals and researchers with its advanced air and space vehicles.
The company's scale and profitability are driven by next-generation vehicles capable of bringing humans to space at an unprecedented frequency and with an industry-leading cost structure.
It has now announced the completion of its new manufacturing facility in Arizona, where the final assembly of its next-generation Delta spaceships is scheduled to begin in early 2025.
Preparing for take-off
The first team of Virgin Galactic's technical manufacturing and operations staff has begun preparing the facility to receive and install tooling, expected to arrive in late 2024.
The facility will receive major subassemblies next year, including the wing, fuselage and feathering system, as the team scales to build the first two ships of the Delta fleet.
Once ground testing is complete, Virgin Galactic’s mothership will ferry completed spaceships to Spaceport America, New Mexico, for flight tests ahead of commercial operations, which are expected to commence in 2026.
The multiuse facility includes two hangars equipped with multiple bays, designed for maximum flexibility in building and testing space vehicles.
Work at the facility will be supported by the company’s digital twin technology, which enables seamless integration between Virgin Galactic and suppliers through real-time collaboration, promoting strong governance and increased efficiency and reliability.
“The completion of our new manufacturing facility is an important milestone in the development of our fleet of next-generation spaceships, the key to our scale and profitability,” explains Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier.
“Tooling will begin arriving in a matter of months to support spaceship final assembly, which we expect to commence in Q1 2025.”
Virgin Galactic’s manufacturing operations are integral to its mission of commercial space travel.
Manufacturers combine advanced aerospace engineering with cutting-edge materials, particularly lightweight, durable composites. This ensures the spacecraft is robust and efficient.
Each component undergoes stringent quality checks to meet the high safety standards necessary for human spaceflight.
Virgin Galactic's innovative approach also includes a unique hybrid rocket motor, designed to provide a smooth and safe flight experience.
It collaborates closely with The Spaceship Company, its manufacturing subsidiary. This synergy ensures a seamless integration of design and production.
The resulting commitment to excellence in manufacturing exemplifies Virgin Galactic’s vision of making space accessible to all.
Pioneering space travel for all
In May 2024, Virgin Galactic opened a ground testing facility in Southern California for Delta subsystems.
Virgin Galactic’s Delta spaceships are designed to seat up to six private passengers, with each expected to be capable of flying up to eight missions per month, dramatically increasing access to space.
The company launched its first fully crewed spaceflight on July 11, taking off from the company's Spaceport America facility in New Mexico to fly just above the boundary of space.
The four passengers and two pilots experienced about four minutes of weightlessness as the SpaceShipTwo vehicle, named VSS Unity, made a successful, crewed suborbital test flight to 282,000 feet (86km) above Earth's surface.
It was "the experience of a lifetime," Branson said during a live broadcast of the flight.
Unity 22 focused on cabin and customer experience objectives, including:
- Assessing the cabin environment, seat comfort, the weightless experience and the views of Earth to ensure every moment of the astronaut’s journey maximised the wonder of space travel.
- Demonstrating the conditions for conducting human-tended research experiments.
- Confirming the training program at Spaceport America supported the spaceflight experience.
Following the flight, Sir Richard Branson adds “I truly believe that space belongs to all of us.
"After more than 16 years of research, engineering, and testing, Virgin Galactic stands at the vanguard of a new commercial space industry, which is set to open space to humankind and change the world for good.
"It’s one thing to have a dream of making space more accessible to all; it’s another for an incredible team to collectively turn that dream into reality.
"As part of a remarkable crew of mission specialists, I’m honoured to help validate the journey our future astronauts will undertake and ensure we deliver the unique customer experience people expect from Virgin.”
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