Virgin Galactic Has Named Its 'Boundless' New Space Plane

Virgin Galactic's next act now has a name. The company on Wednesday unveiled Apeiron, the first of its new Delta-class space planes, and began moving it from a factory in Mesa, Arizona, to Spaceport America in New Mexico for final prep and flight tests, reports Space.com. Pronounced "A'-per-on" and drawn from an ancient Greek term for "boundless," the name Apeiron was picked via a public vote from four finalists, beating out Horizon, Explorer, and Ascend.

The six-passenger craft is meant to replace the VSS Unity, which stopped flying in 2024 as Virgin shifted focus to the Delta line. Virgin aims to resume customer flights in mid-2027, eventually flying each Delta vehicle up to eight times a month. Some 675 ticket holders—who now pay as much as $850,000 per seat—remain in the queue. USA Today has more photos of Virgin Galactic's latest entry.