Virgin Galactic has chosen Apeiron as the name of its first Delta-class spaceship. The name comes from an ancient Greek word meaning ‘boundless’, or without limits. Thousands of people from 83 countries took part in the public vote. Commercial flights are expected to begin early in the second quarter of 2027, from Spaceport America in New Mexico.
Apeiron will carry six private passengers, compared with four on Unity, which completed its final commercial flight in June 2024. The extra seats will allow two more paying passengers on each journey. The company also aims to increase how often its spaceships fly.
The carrier aircraft Eve will release Apeiron at around 50,000 feet. The spaceship will then fire its rocket engine and climb towards space, giving passengers a short period of weightlessness. Its journey will be suborbital: it will return without completing a full trip around Earth. It will glide down to land on a runway.
Each Delta spaceship is designed for up to eight flights a month, although testing must still show whether that rate is possible. Its separate sections and systems are intended to make production and maintenance easier. Engineers will check Apeiron’s flight software before flight testing begins. The revised launch schedule reflects additional software work and checks.
