Virgin Galactic Announces New Spaceship Manufacturing Facility In Arizona

(RTTNews) - Space tourism company Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (SPCE) Thursday said it has has signed a long-term lease for a new final assembly manufacturing facility for its next-generation Delta class spaceships in Mesa, Arizona.

According to the company, the new facility will be capable of producing up to six spaceships per year and will bring hundreds of highly skilled aerospace engineering and manufacturing jobs to the area.

The Delta class spaceship is Virgin Galactic's production vehicle that is designed to fly weekly, supporting the company's target of 400 flights per year from Spaceport America. Based on current schedules, the first of these ships is expected to commence revenue-generating payload flights in late 2025, progressing to private astronaut flights in 2026.

The facility is already under construction and is expected to be fully operational by late 2023.

The Company is currently selecting various suppliers to build the spaceship's major subassemblies, which will be delivered to the new Mesa facility for final assembly. Virgin Galactic motherships will ferry completed spaceships to Spaceport America, New Mexico for flight test and commercial operation.