New York: Shares of Virgin Galactic have fallen to 20 percent after the company announced that it was postponing its first commercial space flight for tourists.
While the first space tourism trip was scheduled for the third quarter of 2022, officials said it would now be delayed until the fourth quarter so repairs and upgrades could be completed.
Also, Virgin Galactic states there will be no additional test flights in 2021.
Virgin Galactic is competing with Elon Musk's Blue Origin and Jeff Bezos' Space X to dominate the space tourism industry.
Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic said a planned upgrade program would begin one month later than expected.
The upgrades are being carried out after tests revealed a possible reduction in the strength margins of certain materials used on its spacecraft.
This new lab test data has had no impact on the vehicles, our test flight protocols clearly defined strength margins and further analysis will assess whether additional work is required to keep them at or above established levels, said company boss Michael Colglazier, according to the BBC.
Virgin Galactic, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, said its next test flight in Summer 2022 - Unity 23 - is scheduled for 2022.
Upon that flight commercial tourist flights will begin.