Virgin Galactic Partners with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to Advance High-Altitude Image-Capture Technology

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Key Terms

cooperative research and development agreement regulatory

A cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) is a formal partnership between a government research lab and a private company to jointly develop technology or products, with each side contributing staff, facilities, or funding while agreeing on how results and patents are shared. For investors, a CRADA can speed development, lower costs and give a company access to specialized government expertise or facilities—similar to renting a well-equipped workshop with shared ownership of whatever is built—potentially improving the odds of commercial success.

12/15/2025 - 07:00 AM

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE), a leader in commercial spaceflight and advanced aerospace technology, today announced a new collaboration with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (“LLNL”), a research and development institution operated for the U.S. Department of Energy. The collaboration will assess potential for utilizing LLNL sensor systems aboard Virgin Galactic launch vehicles in the future, with the aim of gathering critical data and accelerating the development of next-generation image-capture capabilities aboard high-altitude, long-endurance, heavy-lift (“HALE-Heavy”) aircraft.

“Our launch vehicle has remarkable performance characteristics that can support a variety of high-altitude mission needs,” said Michael Colglazier, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Galactic. “This feasibility study with Lawrence Livermore National Lab is an important step in determining how our vehicle can advance breakthrough technology development in the future.”

Ben Bahney, LLNL’s program leader for space, added: “Our collaboration with Virgin Galactic advances our ability to test and refine our systems in a real-world, high-altitude environment. We are excited to explore the unique combination of altitudes, endurance, and payload capacity of Virgin Galactic’s launch vehicles, which could provide unique opportunities to apply and advance LLNL’s optical sensing technologies.”

The Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) for the collaboration was facilitated by LLNL’s Innovation and Partnerships Office (IPO). IPO is the Laboratory’s focal point for industry engagement and facilitates partnerships to deliver mission-driven solutions that support national security and grow the U.S. economy.

About Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic is an aerospace and space travel company, pioneering human-first spaceflight for private individuals, researchers, and governments with its advanced SpaceShips and launch vehicle. Scale and profitability are driven by next-generation vehicles capable of taking humans to space at an unprecedented frequency with an industry-leading cost structure. You can find more information at https://www.virgingalactic.com/.

About Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

For over 70 years, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has applied science and technology to make the world a safer place. The Laboratory’s mission is to enable U.S. security and global stability and resilience by empowering multidisciplinary teams to pursue bold and innovative science and technology.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding our partnership with LLNL, including plans to install and fly sensor systems on our launch vehicle, plans to gather critical data and accelerate the development of HALE-Heavy aircraft, plans to test the sensor systems, other potential revenue generating applications of our current and future launch vehicles, and potential future collaborations with LLNL are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “potential,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “target,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements use these words or expressions. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to any delay in future commercial flights of our spaceflight fleet, our ability to successfully develop and test our next generation vehicles and their research payload systems, and the time and costs associated with doing so, and the factors, risks and uncertainties included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations section of our website at www.virgingalactic.com, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.