Virgin Galactic flew its new Delta-class spacecraft Apeiron, attached beneath its carrier aircraft Eve, from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona to Spaceport America in New Mexico on 28 October. The ferry flight moved the vehicle from the company’s Mesa factory to its operating base, where it will undergo avionics software integration and validation ahead of flight-test preparations. Commercial service is targeted for early in the second quarter of 2027, subject to completion of testing.
Eve departed Mesa at 10:29 a.m. Mountain Standard Time and landed at Spaceport America at 12:59 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time. Michael Masucci was pilot in command, with Dan Alix as pilot and Tori Crichton as flight-test engineer.
Apeiron is Virgin Galactic’s first Delta-class spacecraft. Its arrival in New Mexico begins preparations for the flight-test programme; the ferry flight was not a powered flight by the spacecraft. Virgin Galactic expects a second spacecraft to enter commercial operations in late in the second quarter or early in the third quarter of 2027.
The company also revealed the name Apeiron on 28 October, following a public vote. The planned service dates remain conditional on successful completion of the flight-test programme.