Virgin Galactic announced plans on November 12, 2026, for a new launch hangar and fueling infrastructure at Spaceport America, with an opening targeted for the second half of 2028. The company expects the projects to increase its initial fleet’s annual spaceflight capacity by 20%, to 150 flights by the end of that year.
The third-quarter business update connects the ground expansion with deployment of Virgin Galactic’s next-generation spaceships. The lead vehicle, Apeiron, is expected to make its first glide flight in January 2027 and begin commercial spaceflights in early second-quarter 2027. A second spaceship is expected to enter commercial service in late second-quarter or early third-quarter 2027.
The 150-flight figure is the company’s projected annual capacity for the expanded operation. It combines the planned fleet with additional ground facilities at its New Mexico operating base.
Apeiron Moves From Factory to Flight Testing
Apeiron arrived at Spaceport America on October 28, 2026, carried beneath the launch aircraft Eve from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. Virgin Galactic built the spaceship at its factory in Mesa, Arizona, and identified Spaceport America as its permanent home.
The ferry flight transferred the vehicle between the manufacturing and operating sites. At Spaceport America, the company planned to complete avionics software integration and validation alongside flight-test preparations. Commercial passenger operations follow the planned test program.
Virgin Galactic describes its next-generation spaceships as designed for two flights per week and a service life exceeding 500 missions. These are vehicle design objectives. The company separately states fleet-level operating capacity, which incorporates the aircraft and facilities supporting the spaceships.
Assembly of the second spaceship and a static test article was underway at the Arizona factory when Apeiron transferred to New Mexico. A static test article supports ground testing rather than passenger service. The division between factory work and flight operations places production in Arizona and the next stages of vehicle testing at the spaceport.
A Runway-Based Spaceflight Operation
Spaceport America’s horizontal launch area has a runway measuring 12,000 feet by 200 feet, or approximately 3,658 meters by 61 meters. The facility supports aircraft and spacecraft operations within restricted airspace away from densely populated areas.
Virgin Galactic’s air-launch system uses a carrier aircraft to transport the spaceship before release. That architecture gives runway facilities, aircraft handling, and spaceship preparation direct roles in the launch process. A hangar and associated fueling equipment support the ground portion of the operating cycle.
The spaceport also accommodates activities separate from Virgin Galactic’s passenger flights. Its published capabilities include vertical rocket launches, engine static tests, high-altitude aircraft testing, and balloon launches. The operator’s new hangar announcement concerns its own planned increase in spaceflight activity within this larger facility.
New Space Economy’s earlier examination of Spaceport America’s public financing describes the state and local investment behind the existing complex. The new announcement adds an operator-specific expansion plan to that infrastructure history.
Manufacturing and Customer Preparations
The November update also reported completion of construction at Virgin Galactic’s rocket-motor production facility inside the Arizona spaceship factory, with final occupancy approval pending. Preparations for assembly-line production were underway.
More than 100 prospective astronauts had begun preparations for upcoming flights, and the company opened a limited tranche of Spaceflight Expedition bookings at $850,000 per seat. Those customer preparations accompany the flight-test and ground-infrastructure programs.
The company’s sequence now places Apeiron’s first glide flight in January 2027, commercial service in early second-quarter 2027, and the second spaceship’s entry later that year. The hangar and fueling expansion is targeted to follow in the second half of 2028.
