In advance of the first flight test of Virgin Galactic's next generation spaceship, the company announced today that VSS Unity, its prototype spaceship, has returned to the skies above Spaceport America in New Mexico for the first of several anticipated glide flights. These flights are designed to prepare the company's pilots and operations teams ahead of new spaceship operations.

"Unity's glide characteristics and energy-management profile provide an outstanding real-world proxy for our new spaceship," said Virgin Galactic Spaceline President Mike Moses. "Using a proven vehicle in this way prepares our pilots and operations teams to move through flight testing for our new spaceship more efficiently and with greater confidence than simulator training alone could provide."

Unity's glide profile, landing approach and view from the cockpit match the new spaceship, giving pilots live experience in the glide conditions they will encounter when the new vehicle takes flight.

The glide flights are as much about what happens on the ground as in the air. Ground crew, maintenance teams, and Mission Control are all running live operations, building the rhythm, muscle memory, and cross-team coordination needed to support an increasing cadence of spaceflight activity as the new spaceship programme advances.

Virgin Galactic expects to perform glide tests with the first of its new spaceships in Q3 2026 and rocket-powered test flights to space in Q4 2026. These next-generation spaceships are designed to fly twice per week with an expected vehicle lifetime of more than 500 missions – intended to unlock the economics of a spaceline built to be profitable at scale.