Virgin Galactic sees the space mission with the Italian Air Force delayed

September 10 (Reuters) – Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (SPCE.N) on Friday marked a delay in its first trade investigation mission with the Italian Air Force in mid-October due to a possible manufacturing defect.

The company also attributed the delay in the mission, called “Unity 23,” to the pending resolution of an investigation by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Virgin Galactic said Friday that a third supplier warned of a possible manufacturing defect in a component of the flight control system during test preparations.

“At this time, it is not yet known if the defect is present in the company’s vehicles and what repair work may be required,” the company said, adding that it was conducting inspections on the seller.

The mission was initially set for late September or early October to transport three members of the crew of the Italian Air Force and the Rome-based governmental National Research Agency. Read more

The FAA is investigating the flight that took billionaire Richard Branson into space in July, and last week banned SpaceShipTwo flights until the agency approved the final mishap report or determined the problems did not affect security. public. Read more

Reports from Sanjana Shivdas to Bengaluru; Edited by Sriraj Kalluvila

Our standards: the principles of trust of Thomson Reuters.