Virgin Galactic to delay commercial space travel service
CTV
Space exploration company Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc said on Thursday it is delaying its commercial space travel service to the fourth quarter of 2022 and will not conduct another planned test flight this year.
Virgin Galactic said "commercial service is now expected to commence in Q4 2022." Shares in the company fell 13% in afterhours trading.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Sept. 2 had barred Virgin Galactic from flying its SpaceShipTwo pending completion of a report into the flight of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane that carried British billionaire Richard Branson to the edge of space.
Branson was among six Virgin Galactic employees who took part in the July flight, soaring more than 50 miles (80 km) into space.
The FAA on Sept. 29 closed its mishap investigation into the July 11 Virgin Galactic Unity 22 launch, which deviated from assigned airspace on descent, and lifted a grounding order it had imposed earlier.
