Virgin Galactic will open spaceship manufacturing facility in Mesa

Maritza Dominguez and Russ Wiles, Arizona Republic

July 15, 2022 at 3:58 PM·4 min read

Commercial space travel is getting one step closer in Arizona.

Virgin Galactic, a sister company of Virgin Atlantic, announced Thursday that it will open an assembly manufacturing facility adjacent to the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa.

Construction on the facility is underway and is expected to be fully operational in late 2023, according to the company's announcement.

The Mesa plant could produce up to six spaceships per year and bring "hundreds of highly skilled aerospace engineering and manufacturing jobs to the area," according to the company.

Virgin Galactic has manufacturing and design and engineering plants in California and its operational headquarters is in New Mexico. From the assembly plant in Mesa, the spaceships will be ferried to New Mexico for flight test and commercial operation.

The company aims to fly 400 space flights per year from Spaceport America beginning in late 2025.

Flying Virgin Galactic? Here's how much for a seat and what's included

“We’re thrilled to expand into the greater Phoenix area which is home to outstanding aerospace talent — and we look forward to growing our team and fleet at our new facility,” Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said in the released statement.

Governor Doug Ducey praised the announcement on Twitter. "Another huge manufacturing win for Arizona, creating hundreds of jobs. The new facility in Mesa will be the final assembly point for commercial spaceships," he said.

"Welcome to our city," Mesa Mayor John Giles posted on Twitter. "You’ll be right at home with innovative companies choosing to locate at @GatewayAirport."

Mesa is a city of more than 500,000 residents southeast of Phoenix.

What is Virgin Galactic?

Richard Bronson, second from the left, with the crew of Unity 22.

Virgin Galactic launched 18 years ago to pioneer spaceflight for private individuals and researchers.

The company got Federal Aviation Administration approval last year to fly people into space, according to USA Today. Just a few week's later, Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson flew into space, beating competitor Jeff Bezos and his Blue Orbit venture by just days.

Billionaires around the world are in a space race to make commercial space travel a reality. That includes Branson, Bezos and SpaceX’s Elon Musk.

So how much will it cost to take flight into space? Virgin Galactic opened reservations for its flights earlier this year with a price tag of $450,000, USA Today reported. The entire flight will last 90 minutes.

In Mesa, the company will assemble its next-generation Delta class spaceships, which Virgin Galactic refers to as its production vehicle designed to fly weekly into space from Spaceport America, its headquarters about 45 miles north of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

"The company is currently selecting various suppliers to build the spaceship’s major subassemblies, which will be delivered to the new Mesa facility for final assembly," according to the announcement.

The final assembly plant in Mesa will accelerate production of the Delta fleet, Colglazier said.

Arizona's broader aerospace base

Arizona and metro Phoenix have been the home of various aerospace and defense businesses for decades. A 2021 report by PwC ranked Arizona fifth overall for aerospace manufacturing attractiveness, trailing only first-place Texas as well as Ohio, Washington and Georgia. The study gave Arizona high marks for state tax policy, manufacturing costs and labor.

Notable industry employers with a large presence in the East Valley include Boeing, General Dynamics and Northrup Grumman, which recently announced an expansion of its satellite-manufacturing facility in Gilbert to meet growing demand for spacecraft. The facility builds satellites for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Boeing’s products include military helicopters built in Mesa, while General Dynamics in south Scottsdale designs and supplies space, communications and intelligence systems, including for NASA.

Virgin Galactic recently announced a partnership with Aurora, a Boeing subsidiary based in Virginia, for "design and manufacturing of the Company’s next generation motherships."

Honeywell Aerospace has a large aviation-focused manufacturing operation in Phoenix supplying products that support navigation, safety, propulsion, electrical power, air pressure and more.

Arizona also has some notable defense and aerospace businesses outside of metro Phoenix including a Raytheon missile-manufacturing complex in Tucson. Raytheon led all other companies for most aerospace/defense employees in Arizona in last year’s Republic 100 special report, with 14,700 statewide workers.

Mesa City Councilmember Kevin Thompson, who represents the area around Gateway airport, said “it’s always good when you have a diversified economy and bring in new economic tools.”

“It’s not only good for Mesa it's good for the region as a whole.”

Reporter Maritza Dominguez covers the southwest Valley can be reached at maritza.dominguez@arizonarepublic.com or 480-271-0646. Follow her on Twitter @maritzacdom.

If this story mattered to you, please support our work. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Virgin Atlantic sister company to open aerospace factory in Mesa

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What is Virgin Galactic?

Arizona's broader aerospace base

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