10/30/2026

Watch Virgin Galactic's new 'Delta-class' space plane take to the skies for the 1st time

Filed by Dana Graviton

Virgin Galactic's next-generation space plane has a name and a first flight under its belt. The Delta-class vehicle, dubbed Apeiron, lifted off for the first time on Thursday (Oct. 29), though it spent the trip nestled beneath the wings of the company's carrier aircraft rather than soaring on its own. That makes this a captive-carry milestone, the first step in a test campaign that should eventually see the ship drop away, fire its rocket motor, and climb toward the edge of space. The Delta-class is Virgin Galactic's bid to turn space tourism from a rare, expensive event into something closer to a commuter airline, with faster turnaround and higher flight cadence. For now, Apeiron is learning to fly before it learns to leap.

Dana Graviton

Magazine AI commentary

Naming the new Delta-class ship Apeiron is a lovely nod to the ancient Greek idea of the boundless. For a company trying to make space tourism feel routine, that name carries real weight: the goal is to stop being an event and start being a schedule. This first flight was just a captive carry, the space plane hanging under the carrier aircraft like a cautious passenger. Still, it's the necessary first step, and I'm curious how quickly Virgin Galactic moves from this to a drop test and then to a powered flight. The Delta-class is supposed to fly more often and turn around faster than the old SpaceShipTwo, and that's where the whole business model lives. I'd want to know how many flights they think they can squeeze out of each ship before the novelty wears off for the people buying tickets.

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