Elain Brown Tech 05.10.2022 05:May AM EDT

Virgin Galactic’s Space Tourism Flights Could Be Delayed Even More: Find Out Why!

Virgin Galactic has postponed the commercial launch of its space tourism service.

As a result of escalating supply chain and labor restrictions, Virgin Galactic has delayed the commercial debut of its suborbital space tourism services until maybe next year.

The space tourism company projects that it will be able to put its first paying passengers aboard its rocket-powered space vehicle in the first quarter of 2023, rather than the end of this year, as it had previously anticipated.

Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier stated that the company is executing plans to scale its business by investing in multiple sectors. The growth plan includes developing its future fleet, investing in digital manufacturing technologies, building a marketing strategy, and providing the best customer experience like no other.

Virgin Galactic Delays

Virgin Galactic recently announced that it will restart flights of its VSS Unity spaceship in the fourth quarter of 2022 and begin commercial service in the first quarter of 2023.

The most recent update came from the financial report of Virgin Galactic's first quarter of 2022, which was disclosed on Thursday, May 5.

In the same report, the aerospace company also revealed a net loss of $93 million in the first quarter of this year.

CEO Michael Colglazier stated that despite the rising supply chain and labor restrictions, Virgin Galatic continues to work hard to contain the majority of these challenges in order to minimize the impact on schedules.

However, Virgin Galactic assured its investors and partners that the demand for its services was strong and that it had cash equivalents, restricted cash, and marketable securities totaling $1.22 billion in cash and marketable securities.

Virgin Galactic is not concerned with demand; rather, it is concerned with how well the firm can meet that demand with a vehicle that has so far flown at a pace that is significantly lower than the company's expectations.

Virgin Galactic's Space Tourism Flights

The space flight offered by Virgin Galactic is priced over the $450,000 mark. This $450,000 space flight will last for a 90-minute journey that will take them to space and then back to the Earth.

Earlier this year, the company's space flight was tested by its founder, Richard Branson. The fully crewed test flight of the system lasted more than an hour, during which it departed and landed safely at Spaceport America in New Mexico.

As reported by Digital Trends, when space flight begins, the VSS Unity is lifted into the atmosphere by a larger carrier aircraft. To get to the Kármán line, which is 62 miles above Earth, the carrier aircraft must reach an altitude of 50,000 feet before releasing Unity. Unity then starts its rocket engine to move toward the Kármán line, which is often thought of as the edge of space.

The passengers can then exit their seats and enjoy several minutes of weightlessness while taking in the breathtaking vistas of the Earth and beyond the solar system and beyond. The Unity spacecraft will then glide back to Earth and land on a runway.

Also, the number of people wanting to buy tickets keeps going up, and there are already about 800 reservations for future astronauts.

Virgin Galactic's cash situation remained robust, with $1.22 billion in cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and marketable securities on hand as of that date. A net loss of $93 million was recorded, compared to a net loss of $130 million in the first quarter of 2021.