U.S. private space company Virgin Galactic unveiled Apeiron, a next-generation space tourism spacecraft, and began full-scale preparations for flight tests. With space tourism stalled for a long period, attention is on whether the new spacecraft can provide a breakthrough for resuming commercial operations.

On Oct. 28, Ars Technica reported that Virgin Galactic unveiled Apeiron, the first Delta-class spacecraft, at its Mesa, Arizona plant and moved it to Spaceport America in New Mexico. Apeiron means "the infinite" in ancient Greek. The name was chosen through an open vote involving space enthusiasts from more than 80 countries.

The transfer used the carrier aircraft VMS Eve. Apeiron was carried through the air while attached to the mothership, and the spacecraft did not fly under its own power.

Virgin Galactic plans to complete integration and verification of avionics equipment and flight software at Spaceport America. It will then conduct ground tests, captive-carry flights on the mothership and separation tests before moving to rocket-powered flight tests that reach an altitude above 80 km.

The target for the first commercial spaceflight is early in the second quarter of 2027. The company plans to put a second Delta-class spacecraft into commercial service in the same year from late in the second quarter to early in the third quarter.

Virgin Galactic previously said it would operate 2 Delta-class spacecraft by 2026, but it pushed back its commercialization target as development and verification schedules were delayed.

The U.S. space tourism market is also in a slump. Blue Origin decided to halt operations for at least 2 years after its last New Shepard flight in January this year and focus on development for lunar exploration. SpaceX also completed a private free-flight mission in April last year, and Virgin Galactic has not conducted a customer spaceflight since June 2024.

Apeiron is designed to fly up to 2 times a week and more than 500 times over its lifetime. Virgin Galactic aims to use it to increase the number of space tourism flights and lower costs.

Safety, durability and economic viability needed for repeat flights have not yet been demonstrated. The results of Apeiron's test flights are expected to determine whether Virgin Galactic resumes commercial operations and the direction of the private space tourism market.