A new spaceplane has just crossed the United States without using its own engine.
On October 28, Virgin Galactic unveiled Apeiron, the first vehicle in its new Delta line. It then headed to its New Mexico base, attached beneath a large aircraft called Eve.
The Apeiron spaceplane, secured between the two fuselages of Virgin Galactic's Eve carrier aircraft, in flight on October 28, 2026.
Credit: Virgin Galactic, photograph by Cordwell.
This way of traveling also points to upcoming missions. Eve will carry Apeiron to an altitude of about 13,700 m before releasing it. Its rocket engine will then ignite to propel it much higher. On board, six travelers and two pilots could, if everything goes as planned, reach the edge of space.
Unlike a satellite, Apeiron will follow a trajectory that climbs very high and then comes back down: a suborbital flight. Its passengers will be able to see the curvature of our planet and float for a few minutes without feeling their weight. The vehicle will then return to land on a runway, like an airplane.
For now, this journey remains a promise. Apeiron has not yet carried any customers into space. At Spaceport America, engineers still need to complete checks of the flight software and onboard instruments. The next tests will be used to observe how the vehicle behaves once separated from its carrier aircraft.
Virgin Galactic's Apeiron spaceplane on the ground at dusk.
Credit: Virgin Galactic.
Virgin Galactic is seeking to resume its commercial flights, which were halted in June 2024. Its previous spaceplane, Unity, had completed seven commercial missions before being retired. Apeiron is designed to accommodate six customers, compared with four previously. This difference could allow the company to transport more travelers without increasing the number of departures as much.
Another announced change is that each new vehicle would be capable of flying twice a week and completing more than 500 missions over its lifetime. But these performance figures still need to be confirmed in practice. A second vehicle is already under construction, with the aim of eventually having two spaceplanes.
Apeiron's first commercial flights are now expected at the beginning of the second quarter of 2027. The second vehicle could enter service soon afterward.
Before carrying travelers and obtaining its certification, Apeiron will notably have to perform unpowered gliding descents, followed by flights using its rocket engine. Each of these steps will make it possible to verify how it behaves in real-world conditions. They will determine whether tourists can indeed return aboard Virgin Galactic's vehicles in 2027.