Virgin Galactic shares dive on delay of first commercial flight

New York

SHARES in space tourism company Virgin Galactic tumbled on the New York Stock Exchange on Oct 15 after announcing the postponement of its first commercial flight, originally scheduled for the third quarter of 2022.

In electronic trading before Wall Street opened, Virgin Galactic shares were down by more than 20 per cent.

In a statement on Thursday, the company had said that an upgrade programme for its VMS Eve and VSS Unity spacecraft, aimed at strengthening the safety of the devices, would begin a month late.

A recent laboratory test revealed "a possible reduction in the strength margins of certain materials used to modify specific joints, and this requires further physical inspection", Virgin Galactic said, but have "no impact" on its space vehicles.

As a result, the company's first commercial flight is now scheduled for the fourth quarter of next year.

"Our decisions are driven by detailed and thorough analysis, and we fly based on the most accurate and comprehensive data available," said chief executive Michael Colglazier.

The company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson said the delay was not related to a potential manufacturing defect, revealed in September and which it says it has resolved.

It has been working to commercialise space flight since 2004.

The US aviation regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), also lifted its no-fly order on Virgin Galactic last month after an investigation into an abnormal trajectory during a July takeoff. The test flight carried Branson and three others. The regulator had grounded it on Sep 2.

The FAA had accused the company of not providing the necessary information about the flight in which Branson participated. AFP, BLOOMBERG