Virgin Galactic will start assembling the first of a new generation of suborbital spaceplanes next month with commercial flights planned for mid-2026.

In an Feb. 26 earnings call, company executives said assembly of the first Delta SpaceShip will start in March at a new facility near Phoenix. That would put the company on a path to begin test flights in the spring of 2026 and commercial flights, starting with research payloads, in the middle of 2026.