Virgin Galactic Holdings Expects Unity 23 Test Flight In Mid-October

(RTTNews) - Space tourism company Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. (SPCE) on Friday announced that its next test flight, Unity 23, will only happen in mid-October.

The company said that during preparation for test flight, "a third-party supplier recently flagged a potential manufacturing defect in a component of the flight control actuation system that they supply to Virgin Galactic."

Virgin Galactic said that it is unknown whether the defect is present in the company's vehicles and what repair work may be needed.

"Out of an abundance of caution, and in line with Virgin Galactic's established safety procedures, the Company is in the process of conducting inspections in partnership with the vendor," the company said.

Virgin Galactic also added that it is unrelated to the Unity 22 flight or the current FAA matter, which is focused on air traffic control clearance and communications.