Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) announced plans Monday for another rocket-powered test flight from New Mexico, following its previous attempt that was cut short when a rocket motor failed to fire.
The flight window opens Feb. 13, with opportunities to fly throughout February pending good weather conditions and technical readiness, according to a release from the company. Preparations are already underway at Spaceport America, the release says, which is where the company plans to eventually launch paying customers into space from.
"We are pleased to be able to get back to the skies and continue our flight test program. I would like to thank our team for their continued hard work and diligence in working towards this important milestone," said Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic, in a statement.
One of the goals of the flight will be to test the "remedial work" that has been completed since the Dec. 12 test flight, when a rocket motor did not fire due to an ignition sequence not completing, according to the company. The rocket motor's ignition was intentionally halted because an onboard computer that monitors the propulsion system lost connection. The system is designed to default to what the company calls a "safe state" when power or communication is lost. The crew returned safely.
The Virgin Galactic team "has since conducted the root cause analysis, completed the corrective work required, and carried out extensive ground testing," and hopes to assess and verify that work during a rocket-powered flight, according to the company.
Evaluating the elements of the customer cabin, the live stream capability from the spaceship to the ground, and the upgraded horizontal stabilizers and flight controls are also test objectives for the flight. Virgin Galactic says it will "complete an extensive data review, which will inform the next steps in the test flight program" following the flight.
Virgin Galactic has held unpowered glide flights from New Mexico in the past. The company, which was founded in 2004, has yet to announce the date of its first commercial flight. It went public on the New York Stock Exchange in late 2019, and had $741 million in cash and cash equivalents as of the end of September.
