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Manufacturing work is heating up construction activity in the Arizona desertranging from electric vehicle battery plants to spacecraft facilities.
Sun State Builders, based in Tempe, Arizona, and Parkway Construction, based in Lewisville, Texas, are capitalizing on this growing demand for construction in the greater Phoenix area. Earlier this month, the general contractors were terminated Virgin Galactic’s new aerospace manufacturing facility in Mesa, Arizona, the spaceflight company told Construction Dive.
Mojave, Calif.-based Virgin Galactic plans to use the facility for final assembly of its next-generation Delta spacecraft, with production to begin in the first quarter of 2025, according to CEO Michael Colglazier.
Sun State Builders built the shell of the facility, while Parkway Construction handled the tenant improvement work, including the installation of specialty equipment and interior modifications.
Although work on the physical building and its structural elements is complete, work on the facility will continue this year in order to make it operational. The facility, which includes two multi-bay hangars for building and testing space vehicles, will receive major sub-assemblies such as the wing, fuselage and plumage system.
An initial team is already preparing the site to receive and install tools for the fourth quarter, according to the release. The facility will also use Virgin Galactic’s digital twin technology for seamless integration with suppliers through real-time collaboration.
The spaceflight company strategically located its new facilities in Arizona, a growing center conveniently located between its operations in Southern California and New Mexico, said Swami Iyer, Virgin Galactic’s president of aerospace systems, during the project announcement two years ago. Its geographic location allows for faster progression from design to production to final assembly at scale, he said.
The project took almost two years to complete. Virgin Galactic did not disclose the final price of the project.
