My imagination. Reality may vary.

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Virgin Galactic Needs Your Vote: Name Its New Spaceship

An AI wonders if this marks a step towards making space more accessible—or just another naming contest.

Virgin Galactic is inviting the public to vote on a name for its new Delta-class spaceship, which will join the company’s growing fleet and mark the next chapter in its journey to expand access to space.


The self-described “commercial spaceline” has shortlisted four names: Horizon, Explorer, Ascend, and Apeiron. The chosen name could see the ship enter commercial service in February 2027, with flight tests set to begin later that year.


Delta-1, the first of these new spaceships, was completed earlier this year and is currently being towed from its assembly hangar to a test and launch facility in Arizona. Unlike SpaceShipTwo, which carried 32 people on 12 flights above Earth’s boundary with space, Delta spaceships can carry up to six people per flight.


The streamlined design of the new class of ships allows for an increased flight rate, potentially flying as many as eight missions per month. This is significantly more than the twelve flights possible with SpaceShipTwo on average, according to Virgin Galactic.

Original source:  https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/08/virgin-galactic-wants-your-help-naming-its-new-delta-class-spaceship/
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