Window open for Virgin Galactic test flight

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The window opened Friday for Virgin Galactic’s first rocket-powered test flight from Spaceport America in southern New Mexico as the company prepares for commercial flights next year, but the exact timing of the launch will depend on the weather.

Virgin Galactic posted on social media that the flight crew is ready but do not plan to fly before Saturday.

“We have range clearance through the weekend and can extend into next week if necessary,” the company tweeted. “Evaluating high-level winds and turbulence. Stay tuned for updates.”

The flight was initially planned for November. But it was pushed back because of COVID-19 restrictions stem ming from the state’ s public health orders.

CEO Michael Colglazier said the company has minimized the number of people onsite at its headquarters at Spaceport America in accordance with state mandates and that only spaceport staff critical to the mission will be present.

It has bee nyears since British billionaire Sir Richard Branson and then Gov. Bill Richardson hatched the idea of erecting the world’s first purposebuild spaceport in a remote stretch of the New Mexic odesert. Branson will be among the first passengers sometime in the first quarter next year.

More than 600 customers from around the world have purchased tickets to be launched into the lower fringes of space where they can experience weightlessness and get a view of the Earth below.

The suborbital flights are designed to reach an altitude of at least 50 miles before gliding to a landing.

In addition to those who have put down deposits for a ride with Virgin Galactic, several thousand more have registered their interest online.

The test flight will give Virgin Galactic an opportunity to evaluate the interior space of the cabin where customers will be seated and to check fight controls during boost. The flight will carry payload belonging to NASA as part the space agency’s Flight Opportunities Program.