Virgin Galactic Retires 'Unity,' Plans Bigger Replacement

Unity took a pilot and four passengers to an altitude of 54.4 miles, just shy of the Kármán line.

Russ Niles

Tuesday, June 11, 2024 at 01:56 PM ET

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Edited By: tccjeremy

Key Takeaways:

Virgin Galactic has retired its VSS Unity space tourism vehicle after its seventh flight, anticipating a two-year hiatus before replacement crafts are ready.
The company is developing larger, more efficient Delta-class vehicles designed to carry six passengers and aims to begin commercial flights in 2026, alongside efforts to increase the VMS Eve mothership's flight frequency.
These strategic upgrades are crucial for Virgin Galactic to achieve profitability, targeting 750 annual flights at $600,000 per seat to serve its backlog and generate significant revenue.

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Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity space tourism vehicle has been retired after its seventh flight on Saturday, and it will be at least two years before replacement craft are ready.

Unity took a pilot and four passengers to an altitude of 54.4 miles, just shy of the Kármán line (62 miles) commonly considered to the be the edge of space. It was Unity’s seventh passenger flight in less than a year, and the craft has served its purpose, according to an arstechnica report.