The key facts

  • The first Delta-class spaceplane has been named Apeiron — the name was chosen by a public vote in which thousands of people from 83 countries took part
  • The presentation was held on October 28 at the manufacturing facility in Mesa (Arizona); the vehicle was delivered to the spaceport in New Mexico, which will become its permanent base
  • The first commercial passenger flights of Apeiron are expected in the second quarter of 2027; about 675 ticket holders remain in the queue for suborbital flights

The new spaceplane has been named Apeiron

Virgin Galactic has publicly unveiled its first spaceplane of the new Delta class for the first time. The vehicle has been named Spaceship Apeiron: the word comes from Ancient Greek and means As Kun.uz reports, company staff initially proposed 276 name options, four of which made it to the final: Apeiron beat out Horizon, Explorer, and Ascend.

Presentation and delivery to the spaceport

The presentation took place on October 28 at the company's manufacturing facility in the city of Mesa, Arizona. That same day, the spaceplane, attached to the carrier aircraft VMS Eve, was delivered to the spaceport in New Mexico, which will become its permanent base. Engineers now have to complete the configuration and testing of the onboard electronics software and prepare the vehicle for flight tests. According to updated company data, the first passenger flights on Apeiron are expected in the second quarter of 2027 — provided testing is successfully completed.

A generational change: from VSS Unity to Delta

The Delta class replaces the previous spaceplane VSS Unity, which performed seven suborbital flights from the summer of 2023 to the summer of 2024. After that, Virgin Galactic halted its flights in order to redirect funds and resources toward building next-generation vehicles. The company expects to use the new spaceplanes far more intensively: once regular operations begin, each Delta-series vehicle is expected to make up to eight flights per month. A second spaceplane of this class is already under construction; its commercial flights are scheduled for the end of the second or the beginning of the third quarter of 2027.

Who is waiting to fly

Hundreds of future space tourists are awaiting the launch of the new vehicles. According to Virgin Galactic's Q2 2026 report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, about 675 people who previously purchased tickets are still in the queue for a suborbital flight. More than 100 of them have already begun the initial stage of preparation. Once the second Delta-class spaceplane enters service, the remaining ticket holders are also expected to be brought into the preparation process.