Galactic 07 Mission Coming Up in June, Delta-Class Spaceships On Track for 2026, and Increased Ops Tempo Top News

Virgin Galactic just keeps crawling its way to profitability, with a 1st quarter results call that painted a company on the upswing with enough irons in the fire that things might just work out.

Overall, Virgin Galactic said that its cash position remained strong, with $2 million in revenue driven by commercial spaceflight and membership fees tagged to future astronauts. That's pretty good, compared to last year's first quarter - that one ended with only $0.4 million in revenue, putting Virgin Galactic in the uncomfortable spot of burning cash just to stay alive. But things are on the upswing now, with only a net loss of $102 million to last year's $159 million. Adjusted EBITDA for 1Q24 was similarly 'okay' at $87 million, over last year's at $140 million. 

It's been rough for the space launch company, relying on a very niche market for high-flying zero-G tourism, but Virgin Galactic thinks there's enough demand around the world to sustain a particularly affordable operation. Virgin Galactic has been putting a lot of thought into their 'Delta Class', a riff on their 3rd generation spacecraft particularly optimized for mass production and higher-tempo operations. If all goes well, the Delta Class may even leapfrog the more methodically-manufactured SpaceShip III design, since the production line is more modular and maneuverable than the SpaceShip 2 and 3. For those, each aircraft was born, built, and finished in a single aircraft cradle, making it so each bay was a bottleneck unto itself. Now, the Delta Class allows for modular completion and manufacture, with parallel construction making up for any production holdups as they go. 

Virgin Galactic thinks it will have its assembly facility completed within a year or so, and even better for them, they believe the first Delta Class will make it into revenue service in 2026. Until then, VMS Eve, their sole mothership commissioned in 2008, is slated to support increased flight ops up to 125 flights per year. That one will rack up about $450 million in revenue each year once it's paired with 2 Delta Class ships.

Michael Colglazier, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Galactic said the firm is riding high off a few successes. "It's an exciting time for Virgin Galactic as we celebrate the success of VSS Unity with its upcoming 'Galactic 07' mission and remain laser focused on executing our Delta Class program. Tool delivery and parts fabrication are beginning to accelerate as we work to complete the bulk of the Delta design phase this summer and move more fully into the build phase. We remain on track for commercial service in 2026."

FMI: www.virgingalactic.com