Virgin Galactic announced Wednesday that it is partnering with a Boeing subsidiary to manufacture the next generation of the twin-fuselage aircraft used to carry aloft the space tourism company’s rocket ship. Aurora Flight Sciences will build two of the special carrier planes at its facilities in Mississippi and West Virginia. Final assembly still will take place at Virgin Galactic’s facility in Mojave, California, with the first mothership produced under the contract expected to enter service in 2025. Each of the aircraft will be designed to fly up to 200 launches per year. Virgin Galactic officials said that outsourcing the work will provide access to labor, minimize supply chain disruptions and lead to faster production times. The company has repeatedly pushed back the timeline for launching paying customers, with commercial service now expected in 2023.

Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said the next-generation motherships will be integral to scaling up the company’s operations. “They will be faster to produce, easier to maintain and will allow us to fly substantially more missions each year,” he said in a statement. “Supported by the scale and strength of Boeing, Aurora is the ideal manufacturing partner for us.”