Virgin Galactic wins new research flight contract with repeat customer

Virgin Galactic announced a new contract with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences – IIAS – to fly three research astronauts as part of a future crew aboard the company’s Delta Class spaceship. It will be the second research mission that IIAS has conducted with Virgin Galactic. The mission is anticipated to take place within the first year of Delta commercial service, which remains on track to commence in 2026. The mission is designed to enable IIAS to introduce new research while also expanding upon the results from the ‘Galactic 05’ research mission in November 2023.