Virgin Galactic pilots walk to the company’s SpaceShipTwo Unity spacecraft attached to the Eve jetliner.
Virgo Galactic
Virgo Galactic on Thursday reported a larger loss in the third quarter from a year ago, with CEO Michael Colglazier outlining the remaining steps before the space tourism company plans to launch its long-delayed service next year.
“As we approach commercial service, we recognize the importance of a return to space travel,” Colglazier said on a conference call.
The company said it is nearing completion of a long period of downtime to refurbish and upgrade its vehicles. Colglazier said work on the VSS Unity spacecraft is complete, while work on the VMS Eve aircraft carrier will be completed before the end of December.
Virgin Galactic will then move into a series of test flights in the first quarter, which Colglazier says will begin with a VMS Eve test flight in early January. After that, the company will conduct a “glide flight” test with both VMS Eve and VSS Unity, before heading to a test space flight with a Virgin Galactic mission specialist.
The commercial service will be marked by the launch of a previously announced flight with members of the Italian Air Force, scheduled for the second quarter, before moving on to further flights for private customers. The company has about 800 customers on the counter.
Shares of Virgin Galactic are down 66% this year from Thursday’s close at $4.58.
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For the quarter, the company reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $129 million, compared to a loss of $68 million a year ago, with negligible revenue. The company has approximately $1.1 billion in cash on hand and completed an “in the market” common stock offering that raised $100 million.
Virgin Galactic is highlighting the potential of its “Delta-class” series of spacecraft, and work is set to begin next year. But Colglazier noted that as the company prioritizes its resources on launching commercial services and building Delta-class spacecraft, that “will likely affect the pace of work on our second VSS Imagine spacecraft.” , which was intended to support Virgin Galactic’s short term. possibilities.
“We are reviewing the commercial service entry schedule,” Colglazier said.
