Arizona

Virgin Galactic completes new Delta space plane manufacturing facility in Arizona

Published

2 years ago

July 18, 2024

Virgin Galactic completes new Delta space plane manufacturing facility in Arizona

Virgin Galactic’s future fleet of commercial space planes will now have a home where they will be brought to life starting next year.

Virgin Galactic’s new “Delta” class space planes are set to take flight no earlier than 2026. The final flight of their previous space plane, VSS Unity, took place on June 8 and saw a Turkish astronaut and three space tourists reach suborbital space and experience a few minutes of weightlessness. Virgin Galactic has already named an international group of crew members for one of the first Delta class flights, which will include past Virgin Galactic American private astronaut Kellie Gerardi, who flew aboard Galactic 05 in November 2023, along with Canadian Shawna Pandya and Ireland’s Norah Patten to space no earlier than 2026.

To help build its fleet of Delta class vehicles, The aerospace company announced in a statement that its new multi-use facility has been completed in Mesa, Arizona, and preparations are now underway to make it the main location for building and assembling its next generation Delta space planes.

Virgin Galactic expects to install final manufacturing hardware at the end of the year. After that, upon the arrival of major subassemblies such as the feathering system, fuselage, and wings, Virgin Galactic’s team anticipates the building to begin on its initial pair of Delta ships in 2025.

Once production and ground testing are complete, the finished spaceships will head to Spaceport America in New Mexico to undergo a flight test before commercial operations are anticipated to start in 2026.

“The completion of our new manufacturing facility is an important milestone in the development of our fleet of next-generation spaceships, the key to our scale and profitability,” Michael Colglazier, Virgin Galactic CEO, said in the statement. “Tooling will begin arriving in a matter of months to support spaceship final assembly, which we expect to commence in Q1 2025.”

There are two hangars that include several bays at the multiuse facility, which will allow for utmost flexibility when it comes to the manufacturing and testing of space vehicles. Virgin Galactic uses a digital twin technology, which will allow a “seamless” connection with real-time collaboration between workers at the facility and the company’s suppliers.

Each of the Delta spaceships have room for up to six passengers and can carry out missions up to eight times per month.

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Arizona

Michigan defenseman Hunter Hady transfers to Arizona State

Published

3 hours ago

April 22, 2026

Press Room

Michigan defenseman Hunter Hady transfers to Arizona State

Former Michigan sophomore defenseman Hunter Hady has transferred to Arizona State, according to an announcement on the team Instagram. The 6’4’’ defenseman will join the Sun Devils for his junior year.

Hady played just two games on Michigan’s blue line this season against Harvard in November and against Bentley in the NCAA regional semifinal. He recorded a secondary assist on junior forward Garrett Schifsky’s goal in the Bentley game for his only point of the year.

Hady’s contributions were more substantive in his freshman season — though his point total remained the same. He played 32 games for Michigan as the team struggled to find defensive pairings that worked throughout the year. Hady was a reliable blue line presence who could be counted on to provide solid defense and not make significant errors.

Prior to playing for the Wolverines, Hady spent three seasons with the Chicago Steel of the USHL, where he played with current Michigan teammates senior defenseman Luca Fantilli, sophomore forward Michael Hage and junior forward Jayden Perron, among others. He joins an Arizona State team that lost ground in the NCHC this season and is looking to reach a Frozen Four for the second time in its program history.

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Arizona

Pilot Jessica Cox to be inducted into Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame

Published

15 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

Pilot Jessica Cox to be inducted into Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Jessica Cox, the world’s first licensed armless airplane pilot and a leading advocate for disability-led innovation, will be inducted into the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame on Friday, May 15, 2026. The induction ceremony, hosted by Rightfooted Foundation International in collaboration with the Pima Air & Space Museum, will take place at the museum from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Cox’s recognition honors both her historic achievement in flight and her ongoing work expanding access and opportunity for people without arms. Through her leadership at Rightfooted Foundation International (RFI), Cox has championed mentorship, education and practical innovations that help aspiring pilots and families reimagine what’s possible in aviation and beyond.

“Saying I’m proud of her can’t fully encompass what I feel,” said Patrick Chamberlain, Cox’s husband and RFI’s Inclusive Engineering Director. “Jessica’s induction into the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame recognizes both what she has accomplished and what she continues to do. She has helped shed light on the many pilots with disabilities in aviation and shown the world that disability does not mean inability.”

The 2026 induction class also honors two military aviators: Frank Schiel Jr., a Phoenix-born Flying Tigers veteran credited with seven enemy aircraft destroyed in World War II, and James K. Johnson, a Phoenix-born U.S. Air Force colonel and Korean War double ace credited with ten aerial victories.

The Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame, established in 1985 and housed in the Dorothy Finley Aerospace Gallery at Pima Air & Space Museum, pays tribute to Arizonans who have made significant contributions to aviation and aerospace history.

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Arizona

2026 NFL draft: 3 potential trades back from No. 3 for Arizona Cardinals

Published

1 day ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

2026 NFL draft: 3 potential trades back from No. 3 for Arizona Cardinals

Since the Arizona Cardinals want to trade back from the No. 3 picks, here are three deals that could work.

The Arizona Cardinals have the third pick in the 2026 NFL draft, which begins this week on Thursday. All the reports coming out are saying that they want to trade out of the pick to acquire more draft picks.

But what does a trade look like and who could be involved?

The Kansas City Chiefs are involved in talks at some level. ESPN’s Adam Schefter expects trade talks to heat up this week.

NFL teams use a variation of a trade value chart when it comes to draft picks. Now, what a team actually is willing to give up can be influenced by potential competition with other teams, but we can’t count on that.

Here is the general trade value chart teams use.

Here are some potential deals that could be done.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs have two first-round picks, which would be appealing to the Cardinals, who reportedly want to make a move for quarterback Ty Simpson, and the 29th pick might be just the spot to get him.

The third overall pick is worth 514 points.

The Chiefs’ picks at No. 9 (387 points) and No. 29 (202 points) together are worth 589.

To make up the difference, the Cardinals could give up No. 65 (78 points) for a total of 592 points.

One deal could be:

Cardinals receive get No. 9 and No. 29 (589 points)
Chiefs receive No. 3 and No. 65 (592 points)

Another could be:

Cardinals receive No. 9, No. 29, No. 74 and 2027 third-round pick (653 points + value of future third-round pick, which is 36-78 points)
Chiefs receive No. 3 and No. 34 (689 points)

The Cardinals keep their third-round pick and the Chiefs essentially move back five spots from No. 29.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys have the 12th and 20th picks but no pick in the second round.

Pick No. 12 is 347 points and No. 20 is 269 for a total of 616.

This deal is close:

Cardinals receive No. 12, No. 20 (616 points)
Cowboys receive No. 3, No. 65 (592 points)

New Orleans Saints

The Saints are perhaps a dark horse to move up, although they do not have two first-round picks. They have the No. 8 pick, worth 406 points. Their second-round pick, at No. 42, is worth 142 points.

This deal could work:

Cardinals receive No. 8, No. 42 (548 points)
Saints receive No. 3, No. 104 (547 points)

Then the Cardinals could use their two second-round picks to then move back into Round 1 to get Ty Simpson.

They could trade No. 34, No. 42 and No. 65 (395 points) for No. 28, No. 38 and No. 106 (398 total points).

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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