British Billionaire’s Company Faces Troublesome Financial Shortfalls

Virgin Galactic, a spaceflight company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, has pushed back its expected launch date for the Delta spacecraft from summer to fall 2026. With its finances falling far short of expectations, however, even this timeline seems unsteady.

The Delta is meant to be Virgin Galactic’s next-generation suborbital craft, carrying six passengers (two more than its predecessor, VSS Unity) on quick sightseeing trips to space. It is geared for faster turnaround times, leaving just three days between flights compared to Unity’s once-a-month pace. It also targets a higher flight frequency of twice per week.

Modular construction is supposed to, or at least hopes to, allow the company to build up to six Delta ships a year. This setup factors in the helping hands from partners Bell and Qarbon Aerospace.

Commercial flights have been on hold since June 2024, allowing Virgin Galactic to focus on developing the Delta. Tickets previously sold for $600,000 apiece, and the company has already hinted at raising prices when sales resume in early 2026. For now, though, would-be space tourists will need to keep their wallets on standby.

To touch a little on the hard facts, the company reported $410,000 in second-quarter revenue, missing analysts’ $420,000 forecast by a razor-thin margin that still managed to draw public concern. Virgin Galactic also burned through $55 million in cash during the quarter, marking a slight improvement from the $79 million it torched in the same period last year. The company closed June with $508 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities.

For a small win, the company’s stock rose 2.1% in after-hours trading following the announcement, likely because investors expected an even larger per-share loss than the actual $1.47 reported. Still, shares are down about 35% for the year.

If all goes according to plan, which the current situation suggests is an optimistic “if”, the first Delta spaceship will begin flight tests in early 2026 ahead of the fall debut. The vessel will also double as a research platform for fields ranging from nanotechnology to biological imaging.

FMI: www.virgingalactic.com