October 28, 2026

— Virgin Galactic, the private suborbital spaceflight company founded by British tycoon Richard Branson, has rolled out its first new Delta-class Spaceship and, in doing so, revealed the name that the public chose to call it.

Spaceship Apeiron (pronounced A'-per-on) completed its first captive-carry flight on Wednesday (Oct. 28), mounted underneath the carrier aircraft Eve on a ferry from its assembly facility in Arizona to Spaceport America in New Mexico. It is there that the spaceplane will undergo final preparations, including completing avionics software validation, ahead of flying customers as soon as next spring.

"Apeiron, the Boundless, captures the ambition of human spaceflight and the possibilities it opens for humanity," said Michael Colglazier, chief executive officer of Virgin Galactic, in a statement. "We're proud that the lead ship in Virgin Galactic's Spaceship fleet will carry a name chosen by the people who share our excitement for what comes next."

An ancient Greek word meaning infinite, as in the view at apogee, Apeiron was chosen by the public through an online vote that offered four choices out of an initial pool of 276 submissions by Virgin Galactic teammates and "Future Astronauts" (the title the company gives to its clients who have reserved seats).

The other three choices were Horizon, Explorer and Ascend.

The poll ran from Aug. 27 through Sept. 3, and drew thousands of responses from around the world. This included votes from individuals in 83 countries and on six continents, giving the global space community a direct role in shaping the identity of the company's lead Spaceship.

"The extraordinary response to the public vote made choosing this name even more meaningful," said Colglazier.

The first vehicle in Virgin Galactic's planned Delta-class fleet, Apeiron succeeds SpaceShipTwo Unity, which carried Branson and 31 others on 12 short hops above the U.S.-defined 50-mile (80.5 km) boundary between Earth and space. The first SpaceShipTwo, Enterprise, unveiled in 2009, was lost in 2014, during its fourth powered test flight. Co-pilot Michael Alsbury was killed in the crash. Peter Siebold, the pilot in command, survived but suffered injuries.

Meet Spaceship Apeiron. Click to enlarge video in new pop-up window. (Virgin Galactic)

For Wednesday's captive-carry, Virgin Galactic pilot-in-command Mike "Sooch" Masucci and pilot Dan Alix flew VMS Eve. Tori Crichton was the flight test engineer aboard. The flight covered 358 miles (576 km) in one hour and 28 minutes, taking off at 10:29 a.m. and landing at 11:58 a.m. Mountain Standard Time (1629 to 1758 GMT).

"This morning, we gave Apeiron a name. This afternoon, Apeiron came home," said Colglazier in a separate statement. "Seeing the ship fly beneath Eve to Spaceport America was a moment years in the making. To our team and our astronaut community: your Spaceship has arrived."

In addition to an updated purple and chrome livery, Virgin Galactic's Delta-class vehicles have been designed to streamline manufacturing and maintenance to support an increased flight rate. Delta-class ships may fly as frequently as two times per week with a vehicle lifetime of more than 500 missions, according to the company.

Virgin Galactic is currently the only company pursuing suborbital flight for both researcher-tended science payloads and private astronauts (aka space tourists). Blue Origin, led by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, had been offering the same with its New Shepard launch vehicles but paused flights in January for at least two years to devote its resources to further accelerating its human lunar capabilities.

Virgin Galactic has standing agreements to fly a mission for Purdue University and a dedicated mission to study menstruation in microgravity. The company is also working with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to explore using its Delta-class vehicles to capture space weather data and accelerate understanding of its effects on space-based infrastructure.

In addition to Apeiron, Virgin Galactic is continuing with the assembly of a static test article and a second Spaceship, with teams also preparing the rocket motor assembly line. The second Spaceship is expected to enter commercial service in the summer of 2027.