🚀Virgin Galactic's Apeiron Heads to New Mexico for Its First Flight Tests

Virgin Galactic's first real spaceship is finally moving

Virgin Galactic's first Delta-class spaceship finally has a name and a move date. Apeiron, picked through a public vote, is heading from the Spaceship Factory in Mesa, Arizona, to Spaceport America in New Mexico. Its first commercial spaceflight is targeted for early Q2 2027. If you're tracking suborbital tourism, this is the first real hardware milestone in a while. The company's last suborbital flight on VSS Unity was in June 2024, so the fleet has been dark for over two years. The company originally promised two Delta-class ships by 2026. Zero are in service today. Apeiron still has a long test list: additional ground tests, captive carry tests, a drop test, and a powered test flight above 80 km. Each step is a gate. The catch? Virgin Galactic stock has traded around $2.50 a share recently, down from a $1,118 peak in 2021. Some people think the business model works. Plenty don't. Watch the powered flight above 80 km. That's the moment the 2027 date either firms up or starts slipping.