Virgin Galactic unveils Apeiron space plane

Virgin Galactic (SPCE) has officially unveiled Apeiron, the first spacecraft in its next-generation Delta-class line, in a bid to restart its commercial space tourism business. The company presented the vehicle on Oct. 28, revealing both the new suborbital space plane and its publicly chosen name. Apeiron is described as a key step toward building a human spaceflight platform designed for regular commercial spaceflight.

The name Apeiron, pronounced “A’-per-on,” comes from an ancient Greek word meaning “boundless” and was selected through a public poll. Thousands of people from 83 countries across six continents participated in the vote, underscoring global interest in the company’s next phase of operations.

Following its debut, Apeiron was transported from Mesa, Arizona, to Spaceport America in New Mexico, attached to Virgin Galactic’s VMS Eve carrier aircraft. Its arrival at the New Mexico spaceport marks the transition from the assembly phase to the beginning of official flight testing.

Virgin Galactic plans to conduct final testing of the Delta-class spacecraft at Spaceport America. The revised schedule includes additional time to integrate and validate the vehicle’s avionics software before commercial flights begin.

Each Delta-class vehicle is designed to accommodate up to six passengers on suborbital journeys just above Earth. The new design is intended to replace the earlier VSS Unity spaceplane and to support more frequent and scalable operations.

Once in regular service, Virgin Galactic plans for each Delta-class space plane to fly as many as eight times per month. A second Delta-class vehicle is already under construction and is expected to join Apeiron at Spaceport America around the time passenger services resume.

Virgin Galactic previously operated the VSS Unity spaceplane, which began commercial flights in June 2023 and completed seven commercial missions. Unity flew its final mission on June 8, 2024, after which the company suspended commercial flights to focus on developing its next-generation Delta-class fleet.

The shift from Unity to the Delta-class vehicles is central to Virgin Galactic’s strategy of restarting and scaling its space tourism business. The new fleet is designed to carry more passengers and to operate at a higher flight frequency than its predecessor.

Virgin Galactic’s original plans anticipated research flights in late 2025 and passenger service in 2026, but the schedule has been delayed. The first commercial flights of the new Delta-class vehicles are now expected to occur in 2027, as the company allows more time for integration and validation of the spacecraft’s systems.

About 675 ticketed passengers are currently waiting in line for suborbital flights on Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft, based on a mid-2026 filing. More than 100 of these future space travelers have begun initial preparations, with additional customers expected to follow as the company works toward operating two Delta-class spaceships by the second half of 2027.